Blink, Joke, and Trinity
by Alli Wayne
Summary: This was written in November of 2009 during National Novel Writing month, it's unedited, not finished and will not be finished. It's still a good story, and there are two parts that ARE finished, the third however will not be. Enjoy
1. In a Blink of an Eye: Prologue

Gotham City was a place that Thomas and Martha Wayne believed in, a place that they were trying to save. Thomas Wayne had built Wayne Tower in hope that it could become the unofficial center of Gotham City. He had built a free subway system so that those that could not afford buses, taxis, or other transportation fees, could get around the city free. However tonight it was about their family. Thomas, Martha and little Bruce were all going out to see a movie; it was their normal routine for the week of Father's Day. While they were trying to fit in, the Wayne family was never _out_ on the town and not dressed up. Martha was wearing her new pearls; Bruce had begged and begged until Martha had decided to do it. Along with her auburn hair lying on shoulders, she was wearing a beautiful red gown. Thomas was in one of his fine suits and little Bruce was in just a smaller version of that suit. He was riding on his Dad's shoulders, humming a random song as his father led them down the street.

Tonight, they were going to take a cab, instead of riding in a limo like they normally did. After all, tonight they were not the Wayne family; they were trying to be a normal family like the rest of Gotham City. Unfortunately, for them, their faces were easily recognized. As they traveled they ended up in an alleyway. Bruce noticed that it got darker and the walls of the buildings seemed to be closing in around him and his family. His father put him down on the floor and told him to stand behind him, as someone approached them. He was someone that many would have referred to as Gotham's scum, and while they were normally not armed, this one was.

"Give me your wallet and the lady's pearls and no one will get hurt." The man said, holding a gun straight at Thomas's chest. Thomas tried to move his hand towards his wallet, and handed it to the man. He jerked the wallet out of his hand and continued to point the gun at Martha. "I said the lady's pearls too," he scowled and he reached over to Martha's neck and pulled the pearls of her neck.

"Don't touch her!"

One gunshot, one scream, and another gunshot followed.

Bruce stood in front of his parents' bodies; the man stared at the bodies before running off into the distance. Bruce stared at the bodies, tears prickling his eyes, before they streamed down his face. He was in shock, eight years old and his parents had been murdered in front of his own eyes. Bruce wanted nothing more than to crawl into a little ball and cry.

It didn't take long for the Gotham City Police Department to show up, Bruce was pulled away from his parents' body and down to the department. He was told that Alfred would be there soon, but they needed information about the killer. Bruce could hardly speak, biting his lip and fighting his tears the whole time. The cops weren't exactly nice, except for this one man: Jim Gordon. He was one of the newer additions of the station, and he treated Bruce like an actual child with gentility rather than scorn.

"Bruce… I promise you we're going to catch him and give you justice."

He kept his promise it only took them twelve years. Joe Chill was brought to trial and given a life in prison, and Bruce Wayne was there when his parents' death was brought to justice. Bruce wanted nothing more than that, to see his parents' death get justice. It wasn't enough though, Bruce Wayne was not happy with just seeing him behind bars. He needed more than that, he needed true justice, he needed to know that it wouldn't happen again. Gotham City was his home, his city, and he needed to protect it. Bruce Wayne, billionaire playboy, could not do this he needed a second life. He needed to be the hero of Gotham, to raise this city from the darkness.

It took time, training, and patience to become this hero. He had to wait, plan, and get the pieces of the puzzle together for this hero. By the time of his twenty-third birthday, Bruce Wayne was ready to be that hero. He was ready to become the person that Gotham City needed.

**He was ready to become Batman. **


	2. In a Blink of an Eye: Chapter 1

**Author's Note: I own nothing, ha. I should have put this in the prologue, and I probably will go back and edit it, if not well this is my disclaimer for the rest of the fanfiction. **

Six weeks on the job as Batman and he had done nothing more than beat the living hell out of some unlucky thugs. It wasn't hard, and it wasn't very fulfilling either. He was protecting Gotham, but the real threats weren't stepping out. He had heard rumors about a Catwoman that stole jewelry often, however he had not met up with her yet, and another rumor was that there was a psychotic clown on the roof that had killed multiple people during robberies. Batman was looking forward to meeting both of them, getting them locked up in Blackgate.

Batman stood on the rooftops of a random building in Gotham City; he wasn't far from the Gotham City Museum of Natural History. The Catwoman hadn't yet hit there, though they were prepared for her, they had their alarms set and Batman was ready for her to come to his Museum. Bruce Wayne paid hundreds and hundreds of thousands of dollars to donate to the building; he made sure they had top security for their jewels. Those jewels were priceless and gorgeous, and even Bruce Wayne was willing to admit this. He was waiting for this woman, and there was not even one hint that she would strike at the Gotham Museum. He had no idea, but neither did the Gotham Police Department.

Sure enough, around midnight, the alarms went off and Batman saw a woman jumping from rooftop to rooftop. She carried a bag over her shoulder, and it looked like she had a tail trailing behind her. Batman started after her, she wasn't that far, and with the alarms blaring the GCPD was going to be after her soon. He didn't take very long to catch up to her, but he slowed when she slowed, and he ducked in the shadows when she stopped and took a jewel out of her bag, admiring it.

She giggled, and Batman looked over her costume. It was purple, and a full body suit, a tail came from the back of her and whiskers from her mask. Her hair was hidden behind the mask. She twirled the gem in her hand, humming lightly. Batman didn't move from the shadows, but spoke, "I suggest you return what you stole." She turned her head, looking and moving towards the shadows.

She continued to walk up to where he was, blinking her blue eyes at him. "Ah, Batman… I was wondering when I was gonna meet you." She ran her clawed fingers over his chest, tilting her head at him. "Tall, handsome, and you have all these little gadgets. The pictures I've seen don't do you enough, you're a lot prettier in person, they make you out to be all scary and evil." She moved her hands up his chest and one hand over his face, claws gently going over his mask. She went from the plastic to his skin, digging her claws into his check and then flipping backwards.

"Sorry handsome, I don't take orders from anyone. Besides, I got these fair and square, haven't you ever heard of finder's keepers?" She smirked and picked up her dropped bag, tossing it back over her shoulder and walking towards the edge. "Ta-ta, I've got to go home and feed my cat, can we continue this tomorrow night? Have fun, love." With that she jumped to the next building, however Batman was not going to give up on her that easily. He grabbed a batarang from his belt and threw it at her, it sliced through her bag and the jewels fell on to the roof and over the edge of the building.

"NO!" She screamed, watching her jewels fall to the street below. She looked up and glared at the Batman, who was only a roof away. "You'll pay for this, Handsome." She pouted, grabbing up a few of the smaller jewels, looking over at Batman on the opposing roof. She turned on her heel and took off into a run towards another rooftop.

There was something about her, just from that brief encounter that made Bruce's head spin. Women were women, Bruce hadn't been able to completely separate Bruce from Batman yet, and being distracted from the woman's curves was something that came naturally to Bruce Wayne. With as little jewels as she had, there was no point in chasing her. Well, there was but it was late and he had a meeting with Harvey in the morning. That meant he actually needed sleep tonight, like that was going to happen.

He watched her silhouette in the distance, her tail flying behind her, until she finally just jumped off the roof of the building to what he assumed was the street below. He wondered who she truly was. It was only their first meeting, he knew it wouldn't be their last. He pushed the button on his wrist that called the Batmobile to him, he needed to go home for now. Sleep was what was called for, he could worry about Catwoman later.

Time passed slowly from the point that he called his car, to when the Batmobile actually got there. He jumped from the rooftop and landed by his car. He heard a soft gasp come from above him; when he looked up he saw a small boy staring at him with wide eyes. The door was cracked open behind him, and Bruce could hear his parents yelling. The little boy giggled and waved at him.

"Harry, get your ass inside!"

"Don't you yell at him, Daniel."

"Shut up, Margaret."

"Mom, Dad… Batman's outside!"

"What?"

By the time that the young boy's parents exited their home, Batman was already inside his Batmobile, however he had not yet drove off. Though he took his time starting up the engines and taking off out of the alleyway. The Batmobile /was/ his baby, he had spent millions of dollars on just his double life. Though he could afford three more Batmobiles and still have money for about ten more suits. Bruce was fine in the money aspect of life. He was certain of this.

As Batman drove off, the roads that he drove on were practically empty. The Batmobile was the kind of car that once you saw it once, you knew by the second time you saw it that it /was/ the Batmobile. It was the kind of car that many would say a superhero would drive, that was what they were calling him nowadays, when they weren't accusing him of working with the mob.

Batman didn't know how they could think that he worked for the mob; he had taken out several of the higher up mob bosses in the last few weeks. He even had the curtsey to give them to the GCPD tied up. It was like Christmas when something like that showed up on their front step. Then again, as crooked as the GCPD was, Batman wouldn't be surprised in ninety percent of the GCPD was working for the mob. The mob bosses were, to cover up for their drug deals and their crimes, were buying the cops out. Jim Gordon was the only cop that Batman knew of that he could trust.

Jim Gordon was an old friend; after all, he had been the only cop that Bruce had spoken to as a child and the only cop that he fully trusted now. Bruce Wayne had just visited Jim's daughter's birthday party. Barbara Gordon had just turned five years old; sadly her parents had been in a car accident a little over two years ago. Jim and his wife Barbara (who the little girl was named after) had taken in their niece and adopted her, they weren't sure if they could even have their own children. The small girl was quite smart for her age, she had been reading even since she could ask for books. Barbara often visited with her Father to the Wayne Manor, and she had picked out some of the books from his library to read. He didn't know how a five-year-old girl could read anything out of his library, which contained mainly classics from Le Morte D'Arthur to something as recent as Huckleberry Finn. She had grabbed something Shakespeare, and proceeded to read out loud to Bruce.

Bruce found her quite amusing; she was barely over four feet tall, with bright red hair that was /always/ tied back in pigtails. She adored coming over to the Manor, as Jim told him quite often, Bruce found her great company. Alfred adored her, so there was no reason to not allow her to come over.

He couldn't help but wonder if /Batman/ would ever have someone at his side. A sidekick, he presumed, though Barbara was too young to even think about that. She hadn't met Batman yet, though Jim didn't allow her around the office, she was too young for something as dangerous as being a police officer. Especially in Gotham City, with the strange criminals that were out in the world. Batman didn't know what to expect, after tonight, he was pretty much ready for anything.

Surrounded in his thoughts, Bruce had arrived back in the Batcave before he realized it. He climbed out of the car and started walking towards where he put his suit. He took it off and grabbed some normal clothes to wear. As he walked upstairs towards the main part of the manor, he frowned at his reflection. Claw marks were easily seen on his face, along with dry blood. This was going to be fun to explain to Harvey tomorrow.

It didn't hurt that much, but it was still irritating that he had to come up with a story to tell Harvey in the morning. He could say he got mauled by a rabid cat, but he was pretty sure that Harvey said he was bringing a friend. At least that's what he had told Bruce that morning.

Bruce shuffled his feet as he went upstairs, finding his bed all too slowly and falling asleep rather quickly. The only negative part was that morning came all too quickly. "Master Bruce, I do believe you're going to be late for your lunch with Mr. Dent if you don't get a move on." Alfred was his savior, though Bruce despised when he woke him up. He was much more of a night person than a morning person.

When he rolled over to look at the clock it was almost eleven. Bruce groaned and slowly climbed out of bed, grumbling under his breath. It was time for the day to start.

**Author's Note: I'm writing this for NaNoWriMo, that involves no to very little editing. So I know this is going a little bit fast, but I'll eventually go back and edit it all at the end of the month. :D Thank you for reading and please review. **


	3. In a Blink of an Eye: Chapter 2

Getting Harvey Dent ready for his meeting with Bruce Wayne was something that was driving Selina Kyle up the wall. She had gotten in the office at 7 am, and began to organize his papers and check his schedule to make sure that everything was correct for that day. Harvey got there at 8:15, which was fifteen minutes later than usual; he said that Gilda had kept him for a bit long than needed. So when he got to the office, he sat down at his desk and requested his cup of coffee. Selina would have had it ready, but the cup she had gotten ready for when he was normally at work was cold and she had to run and get him another coffee.

Thankfully Harvey knew how hard Selina worked, and didn't care if she was a bit late with his coffee. She had known Harvey since they had been in college, he had dated her older sister, and when her sister had converted into a nun, she had to be there for Harvey when he got dumped. They had been friends since; he had taken her into his office after the disaster that was her last job. Sexual advances from her boss, and well being pushed out a window was not something that Selina Kyle ever wanted to go through again.

She was quite happy with her job, and where she stood with Harvey. Though she hated her sleep habits and the strange things that she found in her room in the mornings. "Cat", what Selina assumed was an alter ego of herself, often left notes to Selina. During the last few weeks strange things had ended up in her apartment, jewels, statues, things that were cat related showed up in her bedroom and apartment. She had tried to get rid of them at first, but after an angry voice mail from "Cat", Selina hadn't tried to get rid of them again. She had hid them, various places throughout her apartment, just to make sure that if the cops ever showed up at her door she wouldn't be caught with thousands and thousands of dollars in stolen goods in her apartment. That wouldn't have been good, she would lose her job and everything she had. She'd get locked up in Blackgate and that was the LAST thing she needed, right after a boyfriend.

After several hours of preparing Harvey for his meeting, she was now walking into the café where he and Mr. Wayne planned to meet. Harvey, for God only knows why, wanted to introduce her to Bruce Wayne. He had told her this, fifteen minutes ago when they went to leave his office. Her brunette hair was a messy, curls flying everywhere and it looked like she hadn't brushed it at all today. She had taken a brush through it less than ten minutes ago. She had no make-up on, and it was driving her insane. Bruce Wayne was a billionaire, and she was meeting him /today/. She couldn't actually believe she was being put through this when she looked so damn horrible.

Harvey opened the door for her, and she walked inside. The tall handsome District Attorney walked up to the hostess and asked where Mr. Wayne's table was. Selina was absolutely shaking with nerves. The young woman (tall, blonde and more beautiful than Selina could be) led them to the table where Bruce Wayne sat. If it was possible, the young bachelor that sat the table was probably more handsome than the D.A. That was saying something.

Bruce stood, brushed his brown hair out of his face and he smiled at Harvey. "Hello Harvey, is this Selina?" He looked over at her, and Selina could almost tell he was hoping for someone that looked like the waitress. She was never good enough for someone like him.

"Yes, Bruce this is Selina Kyle. Selina, this is Bruce Wayne." He softly smiled at his assistant, and Bruce held out a hand for Selina to shake. She smiled weakly and took his hand in hers, and shook it. She couldn't help but stare affectionately at him, when she noticed there were three marks on his face.

"Bruce, what happened?" Harvey seemed to notice it as well, but before the billionaire bachelor began to explain, he pulled a chair out for Selina to sit in. So, the billionaire had manners as well as being incredibly handsome?

"I was mauled by a stray cat last night," Selina couldn't tell if he was kidding or completely serious, but she assumed, as there was no laughter that followed his statement, he was serious, how odd. She wondered if one of her own cats had gone wild during the middle of the night and caused the scratches on his face. Or maybe it had been Cat at work.

Selina sat down in the chair, and the two men followed. She felt just a bit awkward sitting in between some of Gotham's most powerful and wealthy men in the city, when she was nothing more than the D.A's assistant. Though it wasn't like she could pout about it, this was looking like it was going to be a good lunch.

After a few minutes, the same blonde waitress went up to their table and took their orders. Selina hadn't known what to order, so she asked Harvey what to order, and he told her that if she liked salads (which she did, and he knew this) to try their salad of the day. So she ordered the salad, along with an ice tea. Bruce ordered a cheeseburger and a soft drink, and Harvey ordered a club sand-which with a water on the side.

"So, Selina how long have you been in Gotham City?" Bruce asked after a moment of sitting there with nothing on the table.

"A little over six months, I went to college here but I went back to Chicago when I graduated college." She sheepishly grinned, running her fingers through her hair and sighing lightly. "That's how Harvey and I know each other; he was in my Chemistry class sophomore year of college. We were lab partners…"

"She kept me from failing that class," Harvey added, grinning sheepishly. "I was never good at Chemistry."

Bruce chuckled lightly, "I did fairly well during that class in college. The teacher favored me for whatever reason." _Probably because you're one of the wealthiest and powerful men in the world_, Selina mused lightly, biting her tongue to say this out loud. She would sound way too bitter. _Not to mention that you're gorgeous._

Selina sighed absentmindedly, twirling her hair around her finger. Shortly enough, the waitress (who Selina jut noticed was named Betty) brought their drinks. She sipped at her tea, while she continued to twirl her hair. It wasn't that this lunch was boring; it was that she just felt out of place. Who wouldn't? She wasn't anyone special and being introduced to Bruce Wayne, was something that you just didn't take lightly. At least Selina didn't.

"Do you have anyone in your life that's significant, Selina?" Bruce asked, causing her to look up from the table. She felt her cheeks burn at the question. She didn't know how to answer that without sounding incredibly bitter. Her love life had never been good, between the jocks that only used her for sex in high school, and the controlling bosses that often just wanted to insult her to the point that she wanted to throw herself out a window; her love life was nothing spectacular.

"No, I don't, haven't in a long time." It was true; she hadn't had a true relationship (one that wasn't forced on her, anyway, or that she got money for) since high school. Sophomore year or something like that, his name had been Fredrick Johnson, a football player that had been absolutely gorgeous and she had a feeling that she had been in love and nothing else could ever be as perfect as him.

_She had been so, so wrong._

"I can't see why not." Was he _hitting_ on her? Selina raised her eyebrows at him, wondering what the meaning behind that statement was. Perhaps, he was hitting on her; if he was she wasn't interested. She didn't need a man in her life; all they led for her was trouble. Period.

"Selina here works far too hard for a love life, isn't that right?" Harvey was teasing her, or at least he was trying to. She didn't find it _that_ funny, but she still smiled weakly. She nodded, "She's quite a worker, and she keeps me in check, ha." She continued to smile, sipping her drink lightly. She wasn't sure if she should feel completely awkward or not. Either way, she was enjoying herself, Bruce was nice. Harvey's teasing was completely failing, but it was still a friendly gesture. She wasn't just his assistant today, he was his old friend like Bruce was. Though Bruce was an old friend from High school, she was just a college buddy.

Time flew by incredibly fast, and soon it was the end of their lunch. End of their lunch and she was pulling out her checkbook to pay for her part of the bill. "No, don't bother Selina. I've got it…" Bruce said, pulling out his own wallet and getting out his credit card. "It was nice meeting you," He ran his hand through his hair and sheepishly grinned at her.

Harvey had already headed out towards his car, leaving Bruce to pay and Selina had actually though she should have chipped in somehow. "It was nice," she murmured, fighting the urge to stare at her feet and do nothing more than mumble incoherently. That's what she normally did around men; she didn't see how that she was actually keeping her cool around Bruce. "I enjoyed your company, it was nice." She brushed her dark hair out of her face, and her eyes locked with his.

"Yeah, it was nice. Listen, Selina, what are you doing tonight?" The question completely caught Selina off guard, she didn't think she was doing anything tonight. Though Cat might have had a different idea, but she didn't really care what her alter ego did at the moment.

"I don't _think_ I'm doing anything, why?" She loved acting clueless, she didn't know why but she enjoyed watching their expressions when she looked like she didn't have a clue what they were talking about.

"I'm going to a party tonight, fundraiser of sorts, and I was wondering if you'd like to go?" Hadn't she just been convincing herself twenty minutes ago that she didn't need a man in her life? Now she was about to agree to go out with him? Funny how things could change in a matter of minutes, she was still certain that she wasn't going to get attached. No attachment, and there was no harm in the date. None whatsoever.

"That sounds delightful, Bruce…" She wasn't sure what else to say, she was trying to keep herself from blushing intensely. It wasn't everyday you got asked out by a billionaire, especially to one of the parties he was going to. She had heard about the Gotham Elite's parties, she had been to quite a few as Harvey's assistant. It was good fun, but she was never on someone like Bruce Wayne's arm.

"I'll pick you up at seven, you live downtown right? Eastside Apartments?"

"Number thirteen."

"I'll see you then, yes?"

"I'm looking forward to it." Selina smiled and grabbed her purse, and put it over her shoulder, before wishing Bruce good bye and walking out of the café.

This _had_ been a good lunch. She had made a new friend, and got asked out by that same friend in all of a matter of less than an hour. When she walked out of the café she saw her boss smirking at her, "So… what kept you?" He looked too smug to not know what had just happened. Then it clicked, he had set her and Bruce up!

She scowled lightly, walking towards him. "Harvey, I'd appreciate it if you didn't try to set me and your friends up, especially the billionaire playboys." Harvey laughed.

"Selina, you're too… anti-social for your own good. Besides, he seemed to like you. What was the harm in that? You've been single too long and so has Bruce, the least I could do is _try_." Selina continued to glare at him as they walked to his car.

"I'm giving him a chance, but if we don't _click_, that's not my fault." Harvey shrugged, and unlocked his car doors, as he walked over to the driver's side of the car. Selina opened the passenger's side and sat down, sighing and running her fingers through her hair. She couldn't believe she had just agreed to go out with Bruce Wayne. What had gotten into her? She was blaming Harvey for every second of her temporary insanity.

**Author's Note: I've successfully written and finished two chapters in a matter of two days, like I said in the last chapter; I know it's kind of going a bit fast. I think it's getting easy to write as the story progresses. **


	4. In a Blink of an Eye: Chapter 3

Time passing to seven o'clock was one of the slowest things that Selina Kyle had ever experienced. She had left work by five, and taken a shower and done her hair by six. She had picked out a proper dress by six, and since then she had been slowly and impatiently for it to reach seven o'clock. She was filled with so many emotions it was ridiculous, she was nervous, she was excited, she was scared. She couldn't even think of what to properly do. She didn't want to make a fool of herself, but if she did, that wasn't alright. She didn't want Bruce to think she was stupid, first impressions were something she went off of, and Bruce didn't seem like he was only asking her out because Harvey had pressured him into it.

She had looked absolutely dreadful when they had met, and he had still asked her out. Perhaps he truly was interested, maybe not. She just wished Cat, the more outgoing flirty side of herself would unleash when she wasn't sleeping. Her alter ego had left her a note this morning saying how she had a run in with the Batman, and he had definitely been good looking. How was it that _Cat_ had a better time with men than she did? What was she missing?

She wasn't gorgeous, but she wasn't ugly either. She was in between, she could never be a model but she was still pretty enough to be noticed. She was very _reserved_ though. She normally wore her glasses and blushed and was completely flustered when she was around a good looking man. Had that been the case around Harvey, she probably would have never agreed to go out to lunch with Bruce and him. She had been slightly flustered, but nothing compared to the stuttering, blushing, staring at her feet instead of anyone else, teenaged Selina Kyle.

That Selina Kyle would have never agreed to go out with Bruce Wayne to this party. That Selina would have never been able to make herself look even slightly decent for this date. That Selina was pretty much gone. While she was still young she wasn't so young that she didn't know what she was doing. She could take care of herself, and she wasn't _that_ shy anymore. She knew how to flirt and get what she wanted when she needed to.

_Knock, knock._

Selina practically jumped out of her seat when she heard the knock on the door. She composed herself and walked slowly towards the door. She opened the door, and her breath was taken away. Bruce Wayne looked stunning in a suit and tie, not that he hadn't looked stunning earlier that day, but… _damn_. She realized that her mouth was slightly ajar, before closing it and feeling her cheek _burn_ with heat.

"Hi…" She muttered, running her fingers through her hair nervously. Perhaps it was because she was staring, but he seemed to be almost as taken a back as she was, but she doubted it was because of her. Surely Bruce Wayne had seen prettier looking girls than _her_. He went out with super models for goodness sakes, she was nothing compared to that.

"You look beautiful," Bruce said gently, smiling at her. She couldn't help but have her own grin spread across her face. The compliment seemed sincere, and she couldn't help but feel her ego grow a bit with his words. She needed a bigger ego anyway.

"Thank you; you don't look so bad yourself, Mister Wayne." Selina said gently, smiling practically ear to ear as she said so. She felt her heart jump in her chest as she moved outside of her apartment and shut the door. She had fed her cats and left the windows open for them to wander in and out as they pleased, that's what they did anyway. She didn't know how Isis and Miss Kitty got out and in like they did, but they didn't mind going in and out through the windows so she let them.

"I haven't been to any of these fancy parties, I am dressed correctly yes?" She gestured down to her red dress that went down to her knees. She thought she looked pretty good, compared to earlier anyway. This was one of her better dresses, not the best but not certainly the worse. It was something that her mother would have never approved of her going anywhere in as a student, and her sister now, would just freak out from the amount of skin showing. That's just how much Maggie had changed though.

Her sister had dressed plenty worse, in the last few years she had seen her it hadn't been bad, but when she had been a teenager, the girl had practically ran around half-naked. That's probably what the boys liked so much about her, compared to her dorky sister. Selina had never been promiscuous until the last year or so, and that had been due to the fact she had needed to pay her bills. Her sister, of course, had said she was damned for selling her body, but Selina had seen her sister do worse. Besides desperate times called for desperate measures, thankfully she wasn't in that state anymore and she was far away from her sister, free to do what she wished.

That included going out with the billionaire playboys, who were often all over the news.

"Yes, Selina, you're dressed perfectly for the party. You do look beautiful." Bruce complimented her, again, and Selina felt her cheeks turn a deeper scarlet as they began to walk towards the stairs. She wasn't used to such _sincere_ compliments from someone such as Bruce Wayne. If anything she was used to idiotic comments that were only said after she gave them something.

They walked down the stairs and out of the apartment building, where Selina saw the limo they were going to be driving in. "Selina, I want you to meet my butler, Alfred Pennyworth." The man standing outside of the limo was older than Bruce was by a good twenty or more years, though he had very little gray hairs on his head. He had a full blown mustache and he was dressed in limousine driver clothing. Though Selina had read about Bruce Wayne in the past, his butler was often mentioned as the one that raised him after his parents had been murdered.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Kyle." The man smiled and Selina felt a lot more self-conscious of herself as she stepped towards the limo. It was so _odd_ meeting the people she read about, it was one thing to be secretary to the D.A but a completely different thing to go on a date to Bruce Wayne.

She was still wrapping her mind around that.

"It's wonderful to meet you as well, Alfred." She grinned gently, stepping towards the limo and the clicking of her heels on the side walk. She brushed her hair out of her face, as Alfred opened the door for her and Bruce. She knew he was Bruce's butler and all but she hadn't really been expecting that. Then again, she wasn't used to the fancy life of limos and beautiful gowns and everything that going out with someone like Bruce Wayne involved.

Once she walked in the building where the party was being held, she felt completely and utterly out of place. Her dress wasn't anything compared to what the other women were wearing, what she could have been wearing had she been higher up in the class. She was someone that worked for the things she had, these people, most of them were born into it.

"Oh, Bruce. I'm glad that you could make it." This tall red headed woman walked up to Bruce, kissing his cheek. Selina was in three-inch heels and she still felt like she was a midget compared to this woman. "Oh… is this your date Bruce?" /Oh, what gave it away, the fact that I'm standing next to him or the fact that we walked in together?/ Selina thought coldly, trying her hardest not to glare at the woman.

"Yes, Claire this is Selina Kyle. Selina this is Claire Deverox." That's where she had seen that face before; Claire Deverox was a famous model that often had photo shoots in Gotham City. She was known for her unique pictures, they were often in the magazines that Selina read just to glare at the women that were more beautiful than her.

She glared at Claire's face more than once a week, and she was fighting hard not to do it now. This was a place that she would never be able to fit in. Though once Claire walked off she and Bruce were only; well as alone as they could be in a crowd of dancing people, which wasn't very alone at all. Bruce turned to her, catching her slightly off guard when he spoke. "Selina, do you want to dance?" He raised his arm to her, and Selina felt like she was in high school once again, being asked to dance on prom night.

She didn't know what it was about Bruce Wayne that made her stomach flip and her heart skip a beat, but he did. She was pretty sure that she didn't like it, at all. She hadn't had this type of feeling around a nice guy in a very, very long time. They always turned out to be asses, she didn't want to fall in love with someone and then get her heart broken.

Again.

That wasn't something she was interested in doing, throwing herself at the only guy she had even been slightly interested in and then getting her heart broken, ripped out of her chest and stomped on. Maybe she was being a bit over dramatic. She was sure that /Cat/ would at least try with Bruce. If he was interested enough to ask her out to this stuck-up ballroom, maybe he was interested enough to get in a serious relationship with her.

Damnit, she hadn't answered him yet. Bruce was staring at her, and she had realized that she thought about things way too much. "Uh… yeah. I'm not very good, but I'll dance…" She took his hand and he led her out into the main part of the room. She wondered if they danced ballroom style at all the fun raisers that he went to. If he did, the upper class of Gotham City was weirder than she thought the first time.

"Don't worry, just follow my lead and you'll be fine."

The night passed much quicker than Selina ever imagined, she had actually thought that she would have been bored out of her mind, not from just the party but from Bruce as well. It seemed that the charm that she had seen earlier that day was something that stayed throughout the night as well. About quarter to eleven o'clock, he led her out onto the balcony. The moon was full and Bruce seemed to look even more gorgeous with the moonlight shining on him at the angle that he was.

Mmm.

"Selina tonight was fun."

"Yeah, it was." Selina mused and leaned against the balcony as she looked at him. It was a beautiful summer night. "I thought it was going to be completely different than what it was."

"I'm not that much of a snob," Bruce teased, moving his hand over to her face and brushing a loose strand of hair out of her face. She felt her cheeks burn an even brighter red.

"No, you're not. I had a lot of fun." Selina thought that she had moved closer, or he had, either way there was less space between the two of them. She inhaled lightly, holding her breath; she couldn't believe she was letting herself fall into this trap. Bruce moved forward and gently pressed his lips to hers, and the rest of the night was history.

**Author's Note: Due to the recent reviews, I decided to upload Chapter Three, which I finished today. Yay. I hope you enjoyed it, and the more reviews I get, the more likely I am to write like crazy when it comes to school tomorrow. I have a total of 7,518 (as of 5:40 pm) words, and I want to **_**try**_** for nine thousand, but my fingers hurt and I kinda wanna take a break for the night, unless I do word war-ing. xD So yeah, thank you for reading and I do hope you enjoy it. If I screw up royally somewhere tell me, or just yell at me. I don't care.**


	5. In a Blink of an Eye: Chapter 4

That following morning Selina woke up in her apartment, and she felt absolutely wonderful. She was glad that today was Saturday, if it had been a weekday she would have been up a lot earlier than ten o'clock. She rolled over on her side, looking over at her reflection on top of her dresser. She could not wipe the grin off of her face for anything; it was a wonderful feeling though. She wanted to get up and spin around and just take in the feeling as it was, it was absolutely wonderful and she could say for the first time in months that she was actually sincerely happy.

She needed to thank Harvey for this later, though she would do that after a nice long shower. She slowly managed to drag herself out of bed, as soon as she reached the door there was a small mewing at her feet. Looking down she saw Isis, who was Miss Kitty's younger sister that she had adopted a little over three years ago. Isis was the less promiscuous sister of the two, Miss Kitty often came home and told her all _about_ her little rendezvous with the stray cats of the out side world. She had also brought home kittens once; Selina had almost had a heart attack.

Selina moved towards her cabinet, grabbing the can of cat food that Isis and Miss Kitty shared and put it on a plate. She wasn't sure when Miss Kitty was going to be home, but if necessary she would give Miss Kitty her own can of cat food.

"So, Isis, your mommy has got a new man. Sort of, I suppose…" Selina laughed softly, as she walked over to get a dish to put the cat food on. She forked it out and put it on the plate, before setting it on the floor. She pet the small black cat, before stepping over her and heading to the shower.

The shower was long and relaxing. Once she got out of the shower, Selina wrapped herself in a towel and headed towards her bedroom, she changed into something simple and comfortable. She didn't expect to go anywhere, that she knew of at least. Bruce could always call her and make plans for that night.

She wasn't that lucky. Hours passed and it was soon the afternoon, and before she knew it, it the evening. No calls, no anything, she just figured that she was a one-night kind of date. He _had_ kissed her before taking her home; he _had_ kissed her at her door. Men were nothing but damn teases.

It was ten o'clock before she knew it, and she wasn't tired one bit, but she climbed into bed anyway. Last night Cat hadn't been out, she hadn't left a note of any sort, and Selina had felt too happy that morning to believe that she only got a few hours of sleep. Tonight, she didn't care what Cat did, and she wrote her a note saying so:

_Dear Cat,_

_Have fun on the town tonight. Don't worry about me._

_Love, _

_Selina._

With that she closed her eyes, and slowly fell asleep. It wasn't long before Cat was sitting up and yawning weakly, she noticed the note and giggled happily. She clicked the pen next to the notebook and wrote:

_Dear Selina-_

_I will._

_-Cat_

_Poor girl,_ Cat thought to herself as she moved towards Selina's closet, looking through her things and throwing most of her clothes across the room. Where did she keep her suit? _Oh_, there it was. Cat twirled in the bedroom with the suit up against her body. She changed quickly and pulled her mask over her face, before looking at her reflection in the mirror.

"I look _hot_," Cat said, humming lightly, and moving towards the kitchen. She would have loved to see Bruce Wayne not call **Cat** back, then again, she probably would have went to Wayne Manor and neutered him. She laughed at the thought, as she climbed out of her window. The window was such a better exit than the door, no one knew it was Miss Selina Kyle's home that Catwoman was coming to.

She had stood up her Bat friend the precious night, Selina had been too happy for Cat to intervene with her night life. She wondered if he would be on the rooftops tonight. She hummed as she climbed up the apartment building, before traveling across the city, rooftop to rooftop. She really needed a faster way to climb up these buildings.

She had ended up finding him a lot faster than she thought she would have. It was _his_ turn to be snuck up on and scared. "Mornin' Handsome," she didn't care that it was nighttime and that he was obviously immune to her flirtatious ways. Selina was heartbroken; men had to pay for that, after all, even if they dealt with Cat. Tonight was a night to spend out on her own and have _fun_.

He turned and almost _glared_ at her. Ouch, well that wasn't the reaction she was expecting. "No need to glare, Bats." She smirked at him, stepping closer and running her claws over his chest. He grabbed her hands and put them back at her sides. Once again, not the reaction she was hoping or expecting. "Oh come on, no fun?" She pouted, her lip trembling and her blue eyes watching him as she waited for some kind of _speaking_ reply.

"I'm not in the mood," he growled, and she took a step back, shrugging and turned on her heel. It didn't matter to _her_ whether he wanted to play or not, if he didn't want to play, that wasn't her problem.

"What, lady troubles? C'mon and tell me about it." She smirked and stepped towards him once more. "Surely it can't be worse than _my_ day. I was hoping that you would cheer me up a bit. I should have known not to trust _men_ for my happiness, honestly." He seemed to be watching her intently, as though he didn't know _what_ to think about it all. Maybe she was just paranoid.

He just turned his head back to look at the city, damn. He didn't seem talkative tonight. She tried once more, "I'm sorry I stood you up last night. I was feeding my cat, and time passed and I forgot." His head turned to look at her once more, eyes narrowing.

"Is that your excuse for everything?" Oh, had she used that already? Cat pouted and played with her whiskers, thinking about what to say. "I know you're **Cat**woman and all, but you don't have to try and blame everything on your _cats_, whether real or imaginary." She glared at him, he didn't think that she actually had cats? Well, she was just going to have to bring Isis tomorrow night on the job. That would show him.

"I'm not _blaming_ them, Handsome." She retorted, huffing and rolling her eyes at him. "If I don't feed them they _would_ be imaginary, or ghosts at least." His eyes narrowed at her once more, before going back to the city. This was boring and she was quite tired of him ignoring her. "So, Bats, stop trying to play the hero and play robbers with me." He didn't even move when she finished her sentence.

Really?

Scowling, Cat rolled her eyes and moved in front of him where he couldn't possibly look _through_ her, he wasn't Superman. As far as she knew, he had no powers. However, he _was_ practically a foot taller than she was, and it was not as if it was hard to look over her or anything. She ran her fingers over his chest once more; again her fingers were pried from his chest. "Oh come on, play nice. I'll curl in your lap and purr…" She mused lightly, blinking her eyes at him. Once again she was ignored.

Cat gave up and rolled her eyes at him. This was so boring when he didn't play along. She moved away from the man and huffed. "Fine, if you're not going to play with me, I'll just have to find something else to occupy my time with." With that she practically skipped away from him, his head moved to watch her. She couldn't help but smirk at the thought that he was curious to see what she was doing; it intrigued her that he wanted to know what she was doing. It made her feel proud of herself that she could catch his attention.

As she got closer to the edge of the building to jump off, he seemed to slightly tense up. Finally, right when she was about to jump to the other building, he spoke. "Catwoman," it was nothing more than just that, he said her name and she turned towards him, raising her eyebrows at him.

"Yes, love?" She asked curiously. He turned only a little bit more her way, his eyes were narrowed, though she could see their lovely color of blue due to the moonlight. The color was _very_ similar to Bruce's eyes, that she had enjoyed ever-so-much staring in the previous night. But she couldn't do that _tonight_, seeing as he hadn't called and left _poor_ Selina all alone, to the point where _Cat_ had to go out and take out her angry on poor Batman, who didn't seemed bother anyway.

"I'm not going to lecture you, but I'm not going to join you in these _games_ you like to play. Whoever you are behind that mask, you really ought to think of yourself rather than what you're getting out of stealing gems." She scoffed, his lecture was useless to her. Honestly, he expected her to listen to him when he didn't even try to play along? All that did was make her miserably sad, and that was not healthy for anyone.

"I _am_ thinking of myself, handsome. Why do you care, why do you bother to care about lil ol' me?" She asked, turning and stepping towards him once again. He didn't move from where he was standing, so she had to do all the work. She walked over to him, and tilted her head. His eyes didn't lock with hers, and he seemed to be avoiding it, actually. She ran her fingers over his chest for a third time, this time he didn't pull them away. "I'll still crawl into your lap if you want me to, Handsome."

"I'm not going to play your g—" Before he could get the words out, she stood on her tiptoes and kissed him. He didn't react, and he pushed her away from him. Pity, she had been hoping that she wouldn't be _alone_ tonight. If she didn't have Bruce, she had been hoping that Batman would keep her company.

"I'm not interested ina thief," he growled, and the tone of his voice was not friendly _at all_, she didn't like it. It was a bit frightening, and she backed up away from him.

"**Fine**, you're no fun anyway." She turned away from him for the last time, and ran towards the edge of the building. With that, the beginning of her fun night was over and she had nothing else to do but go home and sleep.

**Author's Note: I'll be switching to Bruce next, Miss Pamela Isley'll be in our next chapter. O:**


	6. In a Blink of an Eye: Chapter 5

**Chapter Five:**

**And then Batman turned into a clam**

Catwoman was certainly someone that Batman had taken an interest to, and the same thing could have been said about Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle. Bruce wasn't one to commit, at all, but when someone like Selina Kyle came into his life, it was certainly… different. She was a wonderful girl, and she was incredibly beautiful, but Bruce didn't want to take a risk that if he got _involved_ with Selina that if someone came along and tried to kill him that she would be in danger. He wouldn't be able to stand it if something happened to her if someone found out his identity. Then there was the ever growing issue of if he should tell her about his second life, they had only gone out on one date and that certainly wasn't enough to go out and tell her he had a double life.

No matter how much he was contemplating it.

Bruce Wayne had been up since five this morning, thinking about last night. Little sleep made Bruce concentrate harder on past events, it was a Sunday morning and there was really nothing he _had_ to do today. Though he thought that calling Selina would have been nice, he had been so _confused_ about the previous night that he didn't pick up the phone to call her. He doubted she was awake at eight in the morning. Just as he started to walk towards the phone to see whether or not Selina was up, it rang and he answered it eagerly, hoping it was Selina.

It wasn't, and his hope was pretty much crushed. However it was Gilda, and Bruce couldn't think of any reason why Gilda would be calling him at eight in the morning. However instead of a "hello", the first words that Bruce heard were, "Harvey broke up with me, Bruce." It was Gilda, Harvey's girlfriend for /years/ now. "Harvey broke up with me, after he told me he was cheating on me." Harvey cheating on Gilda… Harvey cheating on anyone was just an insane idea. "Her name is /Pam/, Bruce. Pamela Isley, and he was actually cheating on me with her. I don't even know what to think, Bruce." She was crying, Bruce could tell how choked up she was. "Can I come over?"

Bruce didn't know how to say no, crying girls were something Bruce had never been good with. When girls had broken down at school, usually if they were dating and he had broken up with them, it was generally not a good thing for a girl to break down. He usually couldn't say no to someone who was crying and looked absolutely pathetic. Batman and Bruce Wayne were slowly becoming two different people, Batman had immunity to things like crying girls, and Bruce Wayne did not. It was so odd, when he thought about it how different he could be with something as simple as a mask over his face.

"Yeah… Gilda, that's fine. I'm sorry…" He frowned lightly, he didn't know why Harvey would break up with her. He didn't imagine why Harvey would cheat on Gilda, there had been multiple times that Harvey had just went over board with the fact that he _loved_ Gilda. He loved her and one day he wanted to marry her, but why such the sudden change in women?

"I'll explain more I guess when I get there, bye Bruce…"

"Bye Gilda…"

Bruce hung up the phone and went back across the room to begin pacing. It would take her a good half an hour to get to Wayne Manor. He still couldn't wrap his mind around the fact that Harvey had _cheated_ on Gilda. His best friend, or one of his very close friends, would never do that, not the Harvey he knew. Too deep into his thoughts, Bruce hadn't heard the second ring of the phone.

"Master Bruce, Mister Dent is on the phone." Alfred said, standing over to where Bruce had just hung up with Gilda. Shaking his head, he walked over to his butler and smiled, thanking him before taking the phone. This time he didn't get to say hello either.

"Bruce, I broke up with Gilda, and I met this _amazing_ woman last night. Her name is Pam, and my God Bruce… she is gorgeous. She has this hair that is the color of roses, Bruce, and she's covered in freckles and she is just gorgeous. When you asked Selina out, I realized that I should expand my horizons with women. I met Pam last night and told Gilda this morning… she's not very happy with me, but I guess that's expected, you know? I mean, we were dating for three years, since college even, but Pam… Bruce you have to meet this woman. She understands me in every single way, and not to mention that I'm considering marrying her. She's just that wonderful, I want to spend the rest of my life with her, Bruce and if we get married I want you to be my best man. Oh… Pam's back, she wanted me to make breakfast and I forgot because I wanted to call you. Uh… I know this is kind of a lot to take in, but if you could give me some kind of answer soon, that'd be great. I have to go though, Bruce… I'll talk to you later."

With that there was a click of the phone hanging up, and Bruce was left in confusion in his living room. Alfred was looking at him expectedly, eyebrows raised and curiosity in his eyes. "What was that about?"

Bruce shrugged, not even sure how to really answer. "Apparently Harvey broke up with Gilda, and met this woman named Pamela, who has red hair and Harvey says she's beautiful. Gilda's coming over because she doesn't know what else to do, but Harvey just called me to tell me what Gilda told me, plus a bunch of other unnecessary things, like that he wants me to be his best man at his and Pam's wedding."

"They're getting married?" Alfred asked, looking almost as confused as Bruce was sure he looked.

"I think he _wants_ to, but he met her last night. Who would get married after one night?"

"It sounds like a bad soap opera twist…"

Bruce couldn't help but laugh at that, it was very true though. It did sound like it was out of a bad soap opera; then again, no soap operas were very amusing to Bruce. They were boring and very cliché, Bruce didn't really find entertainment out of cliché ideas. That was just him though, he knew many people that liked them, his mother had watched them when he had been very young.

Once again his thoughts were interrupted when a knock was at the door, Alfred started to move towards the door and Bruce shook his head and started towards the door. He opened the door and there Gilda was, her long brown hair laying her face. Her eyes were red and puffy and she was looking down at her feet. Bruce felt bad for her.

"He called me, Gilda. He called me and tried to explain it all… I don't know why he would do that."

"Bruce, he said that you and Selina _inspired_ him to move on. I'm not mad, but Bruce… he blamed it on you…"

"Well, Gilda… he called me and asked if I would be his best man in his and Pam's wedding…"

He knew that it wasn't the best thing to tell her, but it was the truth. She stared at him, her brown eyes filled with tears again. _Damnit_, he didn't want her to cry. If she cried, he would feel guilty. Why did Harvey pick _today_ to break up with Gilda? Honestly. Today just wasn't a good day. Bruce wasn't having a good time with women today, and to see Gilda crying wasn't helping at all.

"**Three years. **Three years, and he breaks up with me and after ONE NIGHT he wants to get married to _her?_" Gilda bit her lip, wiping at her teary eyes. "Fine, he can enjoy his life with _her_, but I'm not even going to try and bother with him anymore. I and Harvey Dent will not be in each other's lives again, and that's his choice, not mine…" She paused and ran her fingers through her hair, "I'm sorry Bruce… I just needed someone to rant to…" She wiped at her eyes one again.

Bruce opened his arms and she instantly wrapped her arms around him. It was the least he could do, after all, he was a mutual friend to her and Gilda. He knew that Gilda didn't deserve what Harvey was putting her through. He didn't know how he could do that to her, after all, she had been there for him the last three years. They had had a really great relationship, even recently. Bruce hadn't known they had been having problems.

"I'm sorry, Gilda…" Bruce didn't know what else to say, had there been some kind of warning on his part that something was going on, he would have possibly known what to say. As far as he had known they had been happy, Harvey hadn't been talking about marriage, but Bruce had only believed it was only a matter of time until he popped the question. Harvey wasn't one for irrational decisions, that phone call was no very much like Harvey.

"I suppose it's for the better… I mean if he's just going to throw three years out of the window, I just don't know." Gilda backed up and ran her fingers through her hair. "I need to go back to my apartment, and just think everything over. I'm sorry again, Bruce." She weakly smiled and looked towards her car. "Thank you for listening, though."

"It's no problem, Gilda. Anytime you need something from me, I'll be here." Bruce smiled, trying to sound as sincere as he could. The brunette woman started walking towards her car, sighing lightly. As she opened the driver's door, Bruce waved weakly, Gilda waved back and he moved back inside the Wayne Manor. That was oddly brief, he didn't think that she would be that okay with the relationship Harvey was entering. Bruce was _worried_ about his friend. He was planning a history check on Pamela Isley.

However first, he needed to deal with his _own_ love life that was more or less not going very well. In high school when Bruce had forgotten to call his girlfriend, she usually got all pissed at him and didn't answer when she tried to call. He _really_ hoped Selina wasn't like that.

He grabbed the phone and began to dial Selina's number, it was still early but she should have been up by now. It rang a few times, before he heard her voice. "Hello?" She answered, that was a step up above what he had been hoping, though she sounded half asleep and possibly irritated.

"Hey Selina, I'm sorry I didn't call you yesterday. I was—"

"Busy, yeah Bruce I've heard it before. No big deal. You didn't have fun on our date, whatever. I'm kind of over that, I sat around _yesterday_ waiting for you to call."

"No, Selina, I had a wonderful time. I was just wrapped up yesterday. Have you heard from Harvey this morning?"

"Yes, actually, he just called. Said he proposed to some girl named _Pam_, and that he was having a party tomorrow night or something."

"Oh."

Well, this wasn't good, Bruce decided as he frowned. He had told Selina that he had proposed, maybe he was going to call him back and explain further. Bruce didn't know _what_ was going on with his friend, but an engagement was certainly not a good thing. Especially after one day.

"What happened to Gilda? Do you know? I mean Friday he was just telling me how Gilda had kept him for breakfast so that's why he was late for work… now he moved on to some girl name Pam?"

"So, you're worried too?"

"It's his business, and as his secretary… it's not really my job to get into his business, true? But as his friend, yes I'm worried. Who gets married after one night?"

"I really have no idea, Selina, but.. if he's having a party, do you want to go with me?"

"Oh, _now_ you call me and ask me out… I'm kidding, kind of. I'd love to go and meet this _Pamela_. It sounds fun, and I'd love to see what's so _wonderful_ about this Pamela." Bruce could hear the disgust in Selina's voice, he could tell that she was more than likely making a face like she had after meeting Claire. He wanted to meet her as well, but not to judge her, but to see what was so wonderful.

"So when is it?"

"I do believe it's tomorrow at eight-ish? I take it I'll be seeing you and Alfred around then, yes?"

"Yes you will."

"Tell Alfred that I say hello, and I'll see you tomorrow unless you want to do something today?"

Bruce thought about it, it wasn't even noon, so they could always go someone for lunch, or dinner or whatever they decided. Though he didn't want to go out anywhere tonight, he would have rather stay in and do something at the Wayne Manor. She hadn't gotten a tour of the home yet, and he owed it to her for being "busy". "How about I come pick you up right now and I'll show you my home, and then we can go out somewhere?"

"That sounds fun Bruce, how about in an hour? I have to get ready and such, obviously." She softly giggled and the anger that had once been in her voice was gone. She had mood swings like crazy, Bruce thought to himself.

"I'll see you in an hour then." Bruce nodded his head and grinned.

"See you then," and with that there was a click on her end of the phone and he put down the phone on the table. He was one that would never understand women, no matter how much he tried. Selina Kyle, Catwoman, Gilda, he wasn't able to understand them. He supposed that he never would, it wasn't programmed in men's heads to understand women. That's what drew men to women, he supposed.

Running his hand through his hair, Bruce yawned lightly and started towards his bathroom. He needed to look nice, if not formal, for Selina after all. Today was going to be a good day, if not a little peculiar. If he heard anymore from Harvey, things were definitely going to get more interesting.

**Author's note: This is a semi-long chapter, and I spent most of my day laying in bed and watching Spider-man so… heh. XD My Dad just ordered my NaNo hoodie, and so I decided to upload this chapter, and keep writing the new one. I know it goes fast, but I have it kind of planned out in my head. XD Like the first "Book" is only ten chapters long and around 20,000 words. So you'll have at least two books to read by the end of the month, and half of a third. :D **

**Oh and this will be the only chapter named due to my friend Godot, who said I should name a chapter "Batman turned into a clam". xD**


	7. In a Blink of an Eye: Chapter 6

However he didn't hear anything from Harvey until the following day. Bruce and Selina had had a nice day alone in the Wayne Manor, it was certainly relaxing. It was something different from their first date. Selina had adored the Wayne Manor, and when lunch time came she had insisted on cooking. Bruce had found out that she wasn't that bad of a cook, either. Though she couldn't been Alfred, but who could?

All Harvey had said was that his engagement party was that night, which was a Monday, from eight to ten. He was going to introduce everyone to Pamela and such, seeing as it had only been _two_ days, so no one could have possibly gotten to know her by then. Selina hadn't stayed the night, so Bruce had gone to pick her up that following evening.

Selina had been dressed in a black dress, similar to the red one that she had worn to the fundraiser. She looked incredibly beautiful, with her hair straighten and down over her shoulders. No matter what Harvey told him, no one could beat Selina in Bruce's eyes at that moment in time.

Once they arrived at the party, Bruce had escorted Selina to the door, saying hello to those that noticed him, and introducing her to those that were curious who she was. It had been a good six or seven nosey people that he had introduced her too, and Selina didn't seem to mind that much. Once they actually got into Harvey's home, Bruce had began to look around for where he was.

It only took him a few moments to spot the D.A, standing with a gorgeous red head by his side with a glass of champagne in his hand. He seemed to boasting about the woman at his side. Not sure whether to approach him or not, Selina grabbed his arm and made up his mind for him. She dragged him over to Harvey and who he assumed to be Pamela.

The red headed woman was wearing a green gown, that hardly went to her knees. The look on Selina's face was enough to give away to Bruce that she was disgusted that she could get away with something that short. Harvey didn't seem to mind it, and neither did the men that were listening to Harvey boast. Once the DA was finished talking about his fiancée, he actually turned and noticed Bruce and Selina standing there.

"Bruce! Selina, I'm glad you two could make it. This is Pam. Pam, this is my good friend Bruce Wayne and my secretary at work, Selina." The sound of his voice, just like the phone call, sounded off to Bruce. It wasn't normal that was for sure, and he could hardly keep his eyes off of Pam. It was as though she had him under some sort of spell. Whatever it was, it was the reason that he was acting so oddly. Bruce didn't see any reason, so far, to break up with Gilda on such short notice.

"Pam is a ecologist, she's planned some protests against destroying rare planet species, and things like that. She is hardly ever out of that green room of hers, isn't that right hun?" Bruce raised his eyebrows at Harvey calling the petite red head 'Hun'. Selina laughed, but tried to cover it up with a cough. While Harvey didn't seem to notice Selina's amusement out of the nickname, Pamela had and sent a practical death glare her way.

Selina glared back. That was a look that Bruce hoped he was never on the receiving end of.

"I think it's quite horrible that some /people/ are taking the places that some of the most beautiful and rare plants grow and making them become extinct to build buildings for nothing but idiocy." She seemed to be glaring at Bruce as she said it, and the tall man could not think of a time when he had killed any plant species, ever. He had only been in charge of Wayne Corp for less than half a decade; he couldn't do much damage in that amount of time.

Selina crossed her arms over her chest, almost looking defensive towards the red head. "I'm sorry, but are you only defending the plants? Animals are more important than something that can't even /move/ place to place."

"You're only proving my point, Miss Kyle. Plants cannot defend themselves, and animals can. So why should we kill the plants that can't defend themselves?" Selina didn't look at all amused. Perhaps it was just because that she didn't think that Pamela was good enough for Harvey to leave Gilda for. Bruce could see the glare in her eyes, but she kept silent, reaching down and holding Bruce's hand tightly for comfort.

"So, Harvey, is there a date set?" Selina asked, a tone lacking amusement in her statement. She took her free hand and brushed a loose strand of hair out of her face. Harvey opened his mouth to say something, but Pamela spoke for him.

"No, we haven't set a date. However we were thinking about next summer perhaps, when the flowers are in bloom and we can have a beautiful wedding outside among all of the flowers and the trees. I do hope you two will be able to make it to our wedding, dears." Bruce half smiled, still not comfortable with the topic of being the best man or going to the wedding.

"Oh, don't worry /Pam/ we wouldn't miss it for the world, would we Bruce?" Selina looked at him, raising her eyebrows slightly, waiting for a response. They were already planning a date to their wedding, when they had only been on two dates and weren't technically dating yet? Though Bruce didn't doubt that she was mocking the red head. Selina had spoke to Bruce on the way to the party that she doubted the relationship would last, and if it did she would happily live in a box in defeat. Selina thought she was only after him for the position of power, and Bruce was beginning to see where she was coming from.

"Bruce, you will be my best man, won't you?" Harvey asked, grinning at his friend.

"I would happily take the job." He had to force that out, and while he would happily be the best man at Harvey's wedding, he would have hoped that it would be to Gilda, not Pamela. She was bit too flower child-esque for Bruce's liking.

"Now, if you excuse us, I have to show Pam around to our other guests. It's not fair for you two to see all of her loveliness." Harvey pulled Pamela away gently, leaving Bruce and Selina alone.

"I give them two weeks, before he realizes that she wants his money and his power." Selina said coldly, "Or she turns out to be a psychopathic flower child, that is immortal or something weird like that."

As weird as a Bat and a Cat meeting at night, Bruce wondered. He fought the urge to smile at the thought. Though an immortal flower child /would/ be a bit odd, then again Pam was odd to begin with. "I don't like her Bruce, I really... really don't. I can't tell you why either, she just... rubs me the wrong way, I guess. I don't know. Maybe it's because I like Gilda, and she's just nothing like Gilda. Did you see that dress?"

Yeah, he had seen it. It was distracting to think about, the thought of Selina in a dress like that was more distracting than Pamela in the dress in front of him. Though there /was/ something about the woman that was... different, attractive, but very different. He couldn't narrow it down to one thing, but perhaps it was her voice. It was very gentle and majestic, even when she was getting a bit nasty with Selina.

It wasn't just her voice, but she was gorgeous. She didn't beat Selina in his eyes, but Bruce could definitely see why Harvey liked her. She was lacking in the personality so far, but... maybe he just didn't know her very well yet.

Yeah, that was it. He didn't know her very well yet, and he couldn't see what Harvey liked about her. He didn't know a lot about Selina either, but she was still very nice and attractive and he had fun with her. Perhaps Harvey thought the same thing about Pam, she was fun to be around. Then again, after such a period of time what could they have done?

The rest of the night passed very slowly for Bruce, and for something as 'exciting' as his friend's engagement party, he hadn't expected to be so bored. However Selina didn't seem to be any happy about being there than Bruce did, she had taken a seat in Harvey's living room and kept her head on his shoulder between conversations that people wanted to have with him. He would have put it passed her falling asleep while waiting for something exciting to happy.

Nothing did, and the rest of the night was spent having uneventful conversations about nothing in particular. When the party finally ended, and guests began to leave, Harvey had asked them to stay behind. "Wonderful, more quality time with the flower child…" Selina mumbled softly, after he had left the room. She yawned softly and messed with her hair, the tone of her voice gave it away that she was bored out of her mind and she was slightly irritated.

Pamela returned before Harvey did, and she took a spot a chair opposite of them. She sat down and crossed her legs, looking curiously at the two of them. "So, Harvey tells me that he set the two of you up? Are you enjoying your relationship?" Selina kept quiet, looking over at Bruce to see if he was going to answer or not.

Bruce didn't know how to reply to that, simply because he didn't consider what he and Selina had a _relationship_, not yet anyway. Perhaps he was wrong, and it was a relationship, after all they had had two dates now and she had seen his home. Only knowing her for four days now, this was more than most women got out of him in four days. A second date usually didn't happy for several weeks after the first. Selina was special, he supposed.

"Er, yeah… it hasn't been going bad so far." Bruce explained, of course his and Selina's relationship had been longer than Pam and Harvey's. The red headed woman let out a soft little sigh, playing with her hair, looking at though she was now bored with the conversation.

"So _Pam_, may I call you Pam? Why did you say yes to Harvey's proposal after one day?" Bruce almost cringed at Selina's tone, she wasn't happy or pleased with Pam. He had expected her not to like her, but to almost verbally attack her, that wasn't expected.

Pam, on the other hand, was very calm, "Well Selina, as you know Harvey is a very kind man, and I would be thrilled to become his wife." There was that peaceful tone to her voice again, it was practically hypnotic. Bruce had to shake his head to prevent himself from falling under her _spell_, or whatever her voice was doing to him.

"Right, of course, you know that Harvey had a girlfriend right? And whatever you _did_ to him…"

"Selina…"

"Bruce, you have to realize that she did _something_ to him and whatever it was… it caused him to dump Gilda for _her_, which isn't a very good switch if you ask me, she's just a slut that wants Harvey's money, at least Gilda's love was _sincere_."

"Selina!"

"No, please Bruce, let her continue I want to hear." Pam didn't even seem to be affected by how Selina was attacking her. Bruce wasn't sure if she just didn't care or if she was just wasn't easily offended, or perhaps a mix of both. "And just so both of you know, I have done nothing to Harvey to cause him to act strangely, as you can tell. I think he's acting perfectly normal."

"You've known him two days…" Selina growled, running her fingers through her hair out of frustration and eyeing the door to make sure Harvey didn't hear anything of what she said. "Anyone who has known Harvey a decent amount of time _knows_ that he's acting strange." It was true, he was acting strange Bruce and many of the other guests that they had spoken too had seen it.

"You may think whatever you like, Selina dear, but perhaps I just know him better than you do." She shrugged her shoulders, and Bruce saw how livid Selina looked after those words. It looked as though she was going to pounce on her like a rabid cat.

"Well I _hope_ you two enjoy your engagement, and I hope that Harvey realizes soon that you're nothing more than a gold digger." Selina snapped, standing up and exhaling sharply. She looked at Bruce expectedly, and Bruce was probably more eager than Selina was to get the hell out of there.

When they started to exit towards the front door, Harvey noticed them. "Selina, Bruce where are you two going?"

"I'm sorry Harvey, but I've got to get home. If I stay out too late, I'll sleep in tomorrow and be late. You don't want that." Selina weakly smiled and looked to Bruce, who was trying to think of something to help her out with.

"Yeah, Harv, I've got a meeting in the morning. We had fun though, didn't we Selina?"

"Lots… and lots of fun," Selina was a good actress, Bruce discovered when she sounded so sincere about the statement. "But I'll see you tomorrow in the office, Harvey, I just gotta go to bed." She opened the door and stepped outside.

"Alright, Selina, I'll see you tomorrow, and Bruce should we do lunch Wednesday?"

"That sounds great... G'night Harvey."

"Good night you two…"

When the door Selina looked to Bruce and ran her fingers through her hair, sighing. "I don't like her Bruce… I really, really don't like her."

**Author's Note: Heh. Pam is probably completely out of character, but eh, I'll revise this eventually. xDD**


	8. In a Blink of an Eye: Chapter 7

Pamela Isley was very surprised at how well Selina could see through her disguise. Of course, she figured that was because she was a woman. Women were very… unaffected by her charm, and even Bruce seemed to be slightly affected. Of all of the women she had met that night, Selina Kyle was the only one that _hadn't_ liked her and spoke it aloud. The women had all shut their mouths and hoped the best for Harvey and herself, not that it was going to go anywhere. Selina was the _only_ one that saw through her, and damn she had a good way of seeing through people and their lies. No she wasn't a gold digger, but Harvey's money wasn't a bad thing, that was for sure. Once she killed him, as his widow, she'd get all of his money as long as she wasn't caught before she left town.

It hadn't been that long since Selina and Bruce had left. Harvey had went upstairs to go change, and she had gone outside to speak to her babies. Quite honestly, she cared more for the plants that were in the back yard than Harvey. Then again, Harvey was just another man that she had seduced, how fun. She didn't care about him, or half of the men that she had taken her revenge on in the past. There had only been one man that she had cared about and he had broken her heart. There was no point for her to depend on a man from now on. There really wasn't, she was an independent woman one that didn't have to depend on a man for what she wanted. With the perfume she had developed she could easy hypnotize any man that she made certain smelled her. Her kisses were also quite seductive; the same type of mixture was used on the lipstick as the perfume. Her poisonous lipstick, the kind that she was planning to use on Harvey on the eve of their wedding, was developed a different way.

"Oh, my babies…" she cooed affectionately to a flower as she caressed the flower. "Silly little Harvey doesn't know what I'm planning. All I have to do is let him believe that I'm in love with him for a few more months, until our wedding, and once that happens… well I'll seal our deal with a kiss…" She giggled and sat on the bench right by the flowers. She sat sideways and pulled her knees to her chest.

"I don't suppose he'll listen to Selina or Bruce, after all… he's too in love with me to notice what I'm doing." Ivy blinked her green eyes and yawned lightly, looking over to the rose and it seemed to move closer to her. Ivy adored her powers, or what she thought to be powers, she could somewhat control the plants around her. While there were some limitations, they seemed to work fine when she needed them. With her powers, they could understand her and she gave them the power to respond.

"Pam…" Harvey called from the house, causing the red headed woman to practically jump out of her skin. She hadn't been expecting him to call for her for another few months; she had been enjoying her conversations with her babies.

"Yes, Harvey?"

"Come inside, it's too hot out here…" Harvey said softly, she could see his handsome face tilt as he spoke to her. While he was handsome, he wasn't swoon worthy.

"Fine…" Pam moved from the bench and walked towards the house, as she got closer she wrapped her arms around his neck and giggled. "Hi love… I don't think your friends liked me…" She lowered her lip and let it tremble as she pouted lightly. He hugged her tightly, and while his hugs were wonderful and so were his kisses. However that wasn't the point of what she was doing. She was doing this for her benefit, falling for him was never part of the plan, and that was her only part of her plan: not to fall in love with Harvey Dent no matter what.

"They'll come around Pam, I know Selina and Bruce. They'll come around eventually. So I was thinking, how about we get married on Christmas?" Six months earlier than what they had discussed, in the middle of the winter when all of her babies were dying and wilting. Winter was not one of her favorite times of year, neither was the fall though. However staying around and having to depend on /him/ for an additional six months wasn't that fun, and she supposed if she killed him, took his money and left town that would instantly cheer her up.

"Christmas? That sounds great, Harv…" She giggled lightly, trying to put on the cute little façade that she was innocent and adorable. She was pretty cute, if she did say so herself. She was very petite, and even though Selina had been fairly small too, the dark haired woman had beaten her by several inches. Her hair was long and straight and absolutely stunning. If she had a choice to choose something she liked most about her life she would probably pick her hair.

"C'mon Pam, let's go upstairs and sleep." Sleeping that was something she had not done in a long time. She had been staying up the last few days, exhausted with everything that had happen. She hadn't actually meant to steal Harvey from Gilda, they had just met and he seemed so… inviting. So she had done it, she hadn't quite been looking for a victim, but that was something that just happened. Maybe she was just accidentally attracted to him, and that's what had drawn her to him.

No, she wasn't falling for him. This was just a figment of her imagination; yeah that's exactly what it was. So as Harvey led her up to his bedroom and wrapped her arms around him, it was warm and welcoming. Something she hadn't had during a relationship in a very, very long time. Maybe it was just her imagination, but maybe he was doing this outside of her hypnotism.

Pam moved around and changed from her dress to her pajamas. The nightgown was very similar to the dress, just a bit longer. She knew her dress had been ridiculous, that was her point of wearing it, after all. She flipped her hair over her shoulder and climbed in bed with Harvey, placing a kiss on his lips before crawling under the covers. Maybe this was going to turn out differently than she expected.


	9. In a Blink of an Eye: Chapter 8

Selina had left the party annoyed, irritated and just not happy. Well she was happy that she and Bruce had had their second date, but she was not happy that Harvey had dumped Gilda for some idiotic ginger gold digger, who surely didn't want anything more than his money. That was _not_ what she was happy about. At least Harvey had gotten the two of them together for their personalities, while Selina wasn't the richest person in the world, she certainly wasn't poor. This was because she had her own ways of getting, money or at least Cat did.

Cat had left her home about quarter to midnight, dressed her suit and started out into the night. She looked forward to meeting her Bat friend again, and while they hadn't had a true fight yet, they weren't on the same line. He was on the goody two-shoes line, and she was just crossing the criminal line. It wasn't her fault that people's homes were so… open for her to get to. It really wasn't, after all was it her fault if they didn't have the right security and she could break in? No, that was their fault, not hers.

So before she went off to see her Bat friend, she decided that she was going to break into Claire's home. She knew where it was, _who didn't_, it was Claire Deverox, a high class model that everyone knew stayed in one of the best hotels in Gotham. However she didn't know what floor, so she had to sneak around until she found it. It had been all the way up n the 43rd floor. The building was massive and of all its 60 stories, the 43rd was hell to get to. She couldn't use the elevator, and scaling the building was almost impossible. Almost, Catwoman had a lot of tools that she could use for cases like this.

It was just hard to get all the way up the building, but she had managed it, holding on to the side of the buildings like mad. She thought that Batman's batarangs would have been easier to get up the building with rather than climbing it like a damn mountain. Once she had hit the window, she could see Claire sleeping in her bed, she moved over to another window. This window was the one that was attached to the living room. It would have been easier to go through her bedroom (surely all of her jewels were there), but it made less noise to break through the main part of the apartment.

She used one hand to slice open the window, making a circle big enough for her to get in and out of. She placed the glass inside of the room before crawling through. Her heart was beating obnoxiously fast, she would have been more calm had she only been two or three stories up. She could die if she made the wrong move, and while she was Catwoman, she doubted that she had nine lives. So exhaling as she crawled into the window, she tiptoed towards Claire's bedroom, opening the door and starting in. She hoped and preyed to every deity that she knew that Claire was a deep sleeper, if she wasn't this was going to be a hell of a lot more difficult.

She tiptoed over to Claire's dresser, opening each drawer slowly and as quietly as she could. Nothing but clothes were in or on top of that dresser. She turned and went over to her other dresser and saw the jewelry box and picked it up slowly and put it inside of her bag, cringing when the items jingled inside. She grabbed a few of the other items on top of her dresser and put them in her bag, before being satisfied with what she had, and pretty much high-tailed it out of her room and the window.

Not wanting to end up at the very bottom floor, she looked for nearby tall building that she could jump to. However while she looked, her grip slipped and she fell from the building to an almost certain death. She screamed and shut her eyes to avoid seeing the street below her grow closer and closer. However she heard a WOOSH sound and she felt arms around her and she opened one eye to make sure she wasn't dead. She couldn't help but smile when she realized who had caught her.

"For someone's who not interested in a thief you sure do seem to be around a lot to catch me when I fall…" She smirked up at the Dark Knight, who seemed to be more concerned with landing on the nearest rooftop safely rather than what she was saying.

"I'm not going to let you _die_." He grumbled as they came to a stop on the rooftop, he let go of her and she smiled.

"Well, that's reassuring…" She realized that she still had Claire's jewelry in her bag, and that if he noticed, he would surely take it from her. "Sorry Handsome, but I gotta go..." she said with a weak grin, as she turned to leave, he grabbed her arm.

"I don't think so." Damn him and his goodie two-shoes, couldn't he let her get away at least once? It made her kind of sad that he wouldn't even let her go once. He /had/ to talk to her about it. Honestly. "What's in the bag, Catwoman?"

"Some cookies I theft off a girl scout..." She tried to laugh, but his glare and narrowed eyes was too much for her to try and laugh about. "Nothing, honest. It's not my fault that people don't have good security systems in their homes." She smirked and pulled her arm from his grip, before walking towards the edge of the building.

"Catwoman..." His tone was one hundred percent serious, he didn't want her to leave or get away. He wanted to ruin her fun and that wasn't fun for her, at all. She pouted and turned again.

"Handsome, I know I'm irresistible and all... but if you have a problem with me can't you just join me for one night and I'll make it worth your while?" She wiggled her eyebrows teasingly and giggled, smiling gently at him. She couldn't help herself; she had to flirt with him. Not very many people could say that they had flirted with Batman, just like not very many people could say that they had kissed Superman. Lois Lane had published an article about Superman, if only Selina had that kind of job where she could do things like that.

Not that Batman would want anything to do with Selina Kyle. He was only interested in Catwoman because she stole things and that was "bad" apparently. Cat didn't see the problem with it, and she quite liked doing it. It got her money, and if Selina decided she didn't like it, she could always sell it for money. She needed a new apartment anyway. This old one was absolutely disgusting to what she had seen her friends in. Of course, she wasn't ever expecting to get a house like Harvey, she wasn't that lucky.

"No. I'm not interested, Catwoman." Cat made her bottom lip tremble with a soft pout. Oh well. She could always try later, tomorrow, whenever.

"Yes you are..." she purred, stepping towards him and running her fingers up and down his chest. "Mmm... You know you liked that kiss of ours." He stared down at her, seeming to be unaffected by her movements. She wondered if he was a robot... but that flesh she had touched had felt so... real.

He pushed her away, and she frowned even more at him. "I do wish you would let me play with you..." she pouted, moving closer and running her claws over his skin, not digging in like last time. "Please, Batsy?" she smiled softly, standing on her tiptoes to move to kiss her.

He pushed her away once again, and this time she made a hissing noise and scratched at his face once again. "You should never play with a woman's emotion, Batman... didn't your mother teach your better than that?" She hissed, and as she took off to run, he threw a batarang at her, and the metal hit the brick of the building she was jumping to. That had been too close for her comfort, and she jumped to the following building, turning and looking at Batman. "We'll finish this cat fight later, handsome."

Cat finished the rest if her trip to her home and placed the stolen jewelry on her dresser, before taking a time check. It was passed one in the morning, and while that wasn't as late as it could have been it was enough time for her to crawl into bed and give Selina rest for the night. So that's what she did, she crawled in bed and she made sure that the jewelry was inside of Selina's jewelry box. If she didn't notice it, it would probably be for the better. Selina didn't know how to react with stolen things.

So Cat climbed in bed and yawned as she snuggled into her pillow. Tonight had been a good night, she had a gotten a /lot/ of stolen goods, and that was a good thing.

The following morning Selina woke up, taking a nice long shower and getting dressed for the day. She went to go grab some earrings from her jewelry box and grabbed a pair that she had swore she had never seen before. However, they were gorgeous, and perhaps she had bought them and just never worn them. Cat hadn't left her a note, and there was no reason to think that she had stolen the jewelry.

She had gone to grab her purse from the table, and heard a knock at the door. It was a Tuesday morning at 9 in the morning, who would be at /her/ door? So she went to the door and opened it. It was Bruce, dressed casually but still properly at her door.

"Good morning Selina, I called Harvey to see if you could get the day off... and spend it with me." Well, that was a surprise. She couldn't exactly say no, it wasn't like she had any other plans. She was already dressed, so there was no excuse that she could make.

"You've caught me a bit off guard Bruce, but... I'd love to join you." She grinned and he smiled at her. However she didn't notice that he was staring at her earrings, nor did she know that he was there for completely different reasons than asking her out for the day. While Bruce Wayne would not call her out, but Batman would.

After all, Claire was his friend, and it had been him that she had called first thing that morning reporting her stolen goods. She had already accused Selina of doing it, calling her a jealous bitch that just wanted to make her life a living hell, and while he had seen Catwoman leave from the building, he hoped that it wasn't her. However the gorgeous earrings on her ears were proving him otherwise.


	10. In a Blink of an Eye: Chapter 9

Selina had had a wonderful day with Bruce throughout Gotham, and they had gotten a bit closer than she had expected. Nibbles on her ear and neck (in public) were not something that she had expected at all after three dates, but she was /not/ complaining. However that night, after a long day in high heels, her feel were killing her and she was not in the type of mood to let Cat roam the night. She settled quite happily in her bed and laid there, trying to fall asleep.

However her curiosity seemed to be keeping her up. She crawled out of bed and walked over to her jewelry box, and looked inside it and in the drawers around it. Bruce telling her about the reports of Claire's stolen things made her wonder. Sure enough, there was more than enough things to prove that she had stolen the model's whole jewelry box and several other things.

This wasn't good. No, no it wasn't.

Selina panicked; there was no other way to put it. She panicked and threw things around the room, trying to find all of the things that Cat had stolen and putting them somewhere. The last thing she needed was Batman showing up and taking her to jail. Everything was so perfect, so, so perfect and she couldn't lose it all now. She had the perfect boyfriend, the perfect job, and now she was putting it at stake because she had been STUPID enough to wear jewelry that was stolen. She couldn't actually believe that she had thought it was hers.

She started crying out of panic, but she wiped her eyes and grabbed the bag that she knew that Cat put her stolen goods in. Maybe if she just went to Claire and said she found them on the side of the road, she wouldn't go to jail. Maybe... she hoped that if she did good deeds that something would come of it. Why couldn't Cat just let her be? Why did she have to put everything that risk? Why couldn't there have been a note explaining that she had stolen half the jewelry in her jewelry box and not to wear it to work or on a date with Bruce? Honestly, what the hell was Cat thinking?

She fell on her bed, crying so hard that she couldn't breathe or see for that matter. It wasn't like this with any of the statues that Cat stole, it wasn't like the GCPD was going to bust down her door and look for things from a museum. Jewelry was different, and it hadn't been that obvious, honestly. She would have never thought that a super model wore something like those earrings. That had been so perfect and gorgeous.

Maybe no one would notice, maybe no one would notice and she would be fine. She would be fine and if she got rid of them she wouldn't go to Blackgate, or Arkham or anything like that. She would be able to stay in her shitty little apartment and have the life that she wanted: with the gorgeous boyfriend and good job. There had been nothing wrong with that before now. Why hadn't that damn woman left her a note?

Selina wiped her tears and looked over the bag, frowning and trying to think how she could get rid of it. Throw it out a window? Dress up as Catwoman and leave it on a rooftop somewhere? Her thoughts were interrupted with her window opening, and it was only unlocked for Cat. She could hear the rain pouring down outside. She looked at where the window had opened and inside of her kitchen was Batman. Batman was glaring at her with his narrowed blue eyes and she knew it was all over from there. She knew it there was nothing she could do about it.

"Selina..." He said, gently walking towards her. Her tears returned before she could even think about it. She grabbed the bag with the stolen goods and handed them to him.

"I didn't... I... didn't... I didn't mean to..." It was true, she had no control over Cat. Cat was her own person. She couldn't help what the woman did, she couldn't help that Cat liked to steal things. Selina just wanted a normal life, not one of crime. It wasn't her fault she was like this, her past had done this to her. Her father hitting her, her pimp beating her to the point of death, her boss pushing her out the window, THAT was what had all built up inside of her and had made her Cat. It wasn't her fault.

Damnit she was crying again, and the lack of air wasn't helping at all. "Please... I... didn't..." His eyes seemed to lock with hers, and she could almost see sympathy in them. "I'll stop... I will... please don't lock me up."

"I told you to stop; I told you that it would catch up with you, to think of yourself and not what you were gaining." Selina had never even /spoke/ to Batman, and she couldn't remember the little lectures he gave her. How was she supposed to remember that one?

"Batman... please..." She begged, and she could see the hesitation in his movements.

"I can't help you, Selina. Your sentence may not be that long for simple burglary." It was long enough, and it was long enough for her to lose it in a cell. She couldn't do it. No, she couldn't. She wanted to believe that he didn't want to do this, but she couldn't believe it. It was like he wanted to get her locked up. Like he didn't care about her.

He had to care about her. He had to! Even if she couldn't remember what had happened between him and Cat, she had the faint idea. He wouldn't be here if he didn't care, he wouldn't be telling her that he had warned her had he not care. He had to care, he just had to.

"Please..." She was not above begging, and the fact that she was crying had to mean something. Batman surely knew that she didn't mean to do what she had. "I didn't mean to Batman, please believe me..." She whispered, staring up at him, biting her lip.

"You just have to come with me..." His voice sounded soft, as though he didn't /want/ to do this but he was having to anyway. She moved back from him and Selina was quickly gone and Cat replaced her within second. She wasn't going to let Selina get locked up so easily.

"No, I don't think I will handsome. Like I said last night, it's not my fault if they don't have the right security." She shrugged her shoulders, and made a hissing noise at him. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her close to him, and he growled.

"Selina, you don't have a choice in the matter, you're coming with me--" She stepped back from him and punched him, due to the obvious lack of claws.

"I'm sorry, did you not hear me? I don't think I'll play your little game, after all you never play mine." She shrugged and this time when he moved towards her, it wasn't gentle, it wasn't friendly. He was irritated and annoyed and she regretted that she had resisted him. He grabbed her and slammed her into her apartment wall.

Ouch. Batman liked to play rough, apparently. She cringed as her back slammed into the wall. "Do you still not want to come? This'll only be worse on you if you don't listen." Who was he? Her father? Did he really think that she was going to let him beat her up when she had been through this before? She wasn't doing this again, she wasn't the little girl that had been beaten by her father when behaving badly, and she was the whore that owed her Pimp money.

She lifted her knees up and kicked him hard in the stomach. She hissed as she jumped away from him, and while Cat felt practically naked with her suit on, she was a lot flexible in Selina's normal clothes. "I'm not your punching bag, Batman, and I don't plan to be." She hissed once more, staying as far away from his as her apartment would allow. It wasn't that far. After all, her apartment was three rooms, a dining room, a bathroom, and a bedroom. There wasn't much room to be jumping around in.

"Selina, if you cooperate with me it'll be easier on you." The gentle voice wasn't back, but neither was the growl, it was somewhere in between. He stepped towards her, not violently moving towards her, not as though he was going to hit her, but slow enough for her to slightly trust him. "I want to /help/ you. I don't want to hurt you."

"You're a liar, I've heard that before. I've heard that before being beaten to where I barely had any life in me. Are you going to do that? Are you going to beat on me to the point where I want to die?" While Cat was speaking her voice sounded like Selina, and there were bits and pieces of Selina poking through.

He moved towards her, grabbing her and holding her as though he was trying to hug her. However he had grabbed her wrists and pinned them behind her back, and before she could even fight him, there was the sound of the clicking of the handcuffs. She couldn't fight him without her hands, those were her main weapons.

Batman grabbed her arm and pulled her out of her apartment, down the stairs and towards the front of the building. He put her in his Batmobile and drove her to the GCPD.

It was a long, silent ride. Cat was refusing to let Selina see this until they got to the GCPD, if Selina saw it, she would begin crying and probably beg Batman and make herself seem even crazier than he already thought she was. So she sat in the passenger's seat, hands behind her back watching him drive. "Nice car..." She mused lightly, smirking over at him. He didn't turn his head, so she scooted slightly towards him, laying her head on his shoulder.

"Y'know you don't have to do this... you could just kiss me and take me back home and cuddle..." He didn't look at her, and her rejection was worse when she couldn't go anywhere, because he wouldn't call her back. She hummed lightly as she waited for the car to stop, and as the hood of the car disappeared she waited for Batman to say something before she moved. He climbed out and then she followed. She followed him into the GCPD building, pouting lightly as she got stared at.

Jim Gordon was the first cop that she saw. Of course, she had never met the man, she had only been in Gotham a few months and during those few months, she had never been in any trouble. "So, you're the thief that's been stealing priceless jewels. Funny I thought Bruce Wayne wouldn't be the type of man to pick /thieves/ as his woman of choice." While Batman didn't say anything, he facial expression changed when he mentioned Bruce.

"Wayne wasn't involved; he was the one who told me to check her out for possible leads." Cat's mouth dropped open. Bruce had ratted her out? After their wonderful day he had ratted her /out/? Selina was going to be absolutely heart broken when she heard this, and Cat was beginning to feel bits and pieces of that heartbreak. Bruce had been that perfect guy, that perfect guy that she had been thinking about considering spending the rest of her life with.

No, he was a complete and utter jackass. He was no different than any other man in her life, he didn't care about her. He didn't /care/, all he wanted was the possibility to get her behind bars. Cat couldn't hold Selina back anymore and the girl entered and looked at Batman with tears in her eyes. "Bruce... he wanted you to..." She bit her lip, and looked down at the ground while the tears fell to the floor making a soft splattering sound.

"C'mon Kyle, we have to lock you up until you get a trial, and see if Miss Deverox wants to press charges or not." Gordon pulled on her arm, and Selina didn't hesitate or fight him, she just slowly followed him towards her cell. She couldn't believe she was in this situation, she couldn't believe only a few nights ago Cat had been so care free when she had gotten back from the museum, and not worried at all about Batman. She had been just set up with Bruce... everything could change so fast.

In a blink of an eye she had gone from silly, single Selina Kyle, or outgoing, taken Selina Kyle who was dating Bruce Wayne for God's sake. Now she was Selina Kyle: Cat-burglar and behind bars. This was just freaking wonderful.

Gordon put her in her cell and Selina crawled into a little ball on her mat, which was apparently supposed to act as a bed. She already hated jail, she hated it with a passion and she couldn't wait to get out, if that was ever going to happen. She wiped her eyes and tried to fall asleep.

Bruce came to visit her that following morning; she had been awake and staring at the wall. She felt filthy and disgusting and she hated it. He had came up to her cell, "Selina...?" He said her voice so softly, however when she turned to look at him she just glared.

"I can't believe you did this to me Bruce, you ruined my life!"

"You need help, Selina. I care about you..."

"That's a lie, Bruce Wayne. Claire came to you and accused me of it, and you believed her..."

"I had my suspicions before she accused you, Selina."

"We had something good, Bruce. We had something good and you went off and ruined it."

"Selina... I'm sorry."

"You're such a damn liar..."

"I wanted to help you... I /do/ care... you have to believe me."

"You didn't give me a chance to tell you anything."

"You had the jewelry in your bedroom; you were wearing her earrings, Selina!"

"Bruce if you would let me explain..."

"You're guilty, Selina, it's not like you can say that you were framed. We found the Catwoman outfit in your closet."

"You had them search my HOUSE?"

"They had to get the stolen items out of there somehow, Selina. You had millions and millions of dollars of stolen items in your apartment and you expected to never get caught?"

"I give up on talking to you, Bruce. I can't believe that you would turn me in."

"I want to get you help..."

"So you LOCK ME UP? HOW THE HELL IS THAT GOING TO HELP ME BRUCE?"

Her voice was a lot louder than she expected it to be, she was practically screaming at him, and he did nothing but stare at her afterwards. He ran his hand through his hair and sighed lightly. "Selina, I can't help you if you don't want to be helped."

Selina ran her fingers through her hair, frustrated and not sure what else to say. Tears were falling down her cheeks again. She really just wanted to get out of here. She wanted to get out of this damn cell and she was wanted a normal life. She pulled her knees up to her chest and cried into them. "I want to be helped Bruce, you just... don't understand. You can't understand... there's a different side to me... a different side that I can't help. She's the side that I love being, I love being... outgoing and flirty and have fun, but y'know what? She dresses up in a cat suit and she steals things. I don't /like/ that part of her, but I like her. She's like a drug, I love the feeling I get when I'm /her/ but not the side effects... you don't understand... you could never understand."

He was staring at her and frowning, he was at a loss of words. "Actually... I... no Selina, I can't understand. But I want to help you. I don't understand why you can't be like her without stealing things." She looked up at him and wiped the tears from her eyes.

"It's what she likes to do, she likes to help me, and with the shit apartment I have and the poor salary I get, I can't afford to go up anywhere. I only go down, and she would steal those things and you know what she would do? She would leave notes and tell me to sell them, sell them and get money for them in return. That's how I got my apartment to begin with, it was just things like jewelry stores, and then she got ballsy and went to museums, and then she went to Claire's. I thought the earrings that were in my jewelry box were /mine/. I didn't know they were hers, I would have never wore them. When Batman arrived I was so close to going and giving them back. I didn't know what to do Bruce. I... and then /she/ came, and that didn't help the situation at all. I just... don't know Bruce. I want out of here, I want help..."

In the middle of her speech Cat had came back into her mind, taking over what she was saying. It was more pathetic and sad when she said rather than when Selina did. If Bruce believed her perhaps she would get the hell out of there and she'd be free again. She needed to be free again, she needed to be free and she needed her suit again.

"It's too late, Selina. You're going to have a sentence, no matter what. I can't help you and you know that. You're going to have to the judge when you get there..." He frowned and she wiped the tears from her eyes, looking back at the ground. Cat felt more miserable than Selina ever could. Selina knew that she deserved what she was getting and Cat didn't want to be there. It was like caging a lion in a tiny little cage and then never letting them out.

That was one of the many reasons Cat hated zoos.

As Bruce left her, Cat laid on her mat, sighing irritated. She wanted out and she wanted out now. She would not get her wish; however, she went to the court within the following month. They sentenced her to a minimum of 20 years and gave her the possibility of parole on good behavior. Blackgate was a lot worse than the ones that the GCPD had.

However things could have been worse, somehow. She could have been in Arkham for pure insanity, of course they had tested her and she hadn't been considered insane so they had just put her in Blackgate. However twenty years was not something she was going to be sentenced to, despite what she thought and what she had been told by the judges. While she was not the only villain that Batman was going to face in those twenty years, and the first Blackgate and Arkham breakout that following year was not going to be the first.

However, we're not quite there yet. The first few weeks of her sentence, Selina suffered and cried a lot. She missed Bruce, she missed her job, she missed seeing Harvey every day. Soon those weeks turned into months, and soon she could see snow falling outside of her window. She had been told by the guards that Harvey was getting married soon. She hated the thought that he was going to marry that stupid girl. She hated being told that Bruce Wayne had moved on behind her, and she hated being told that no one had quite given it to Batman yet.

However she knew that it was only a matter of time before someone came through Gotham City that thought it was interesting that there was a grown man dressed up like a Bat. She wasn't the first, nor was she going to be the last. She hated the snow, and she hated Blackgate.

As the months passed, she found that Cat was taking over more than Selina. She realized that she was a bit flirtier with the guards that she should have been. It wasn't so much whether it was one or the other now, Cat and Selina had merged into one. She knew what she was, and she wasn't ashamed of it. She was the only person that had ever stolen priceless things from a museum; she was the only girl that Batman had ever kissed (as far as she knew). She missed her nights with Batman.

While in her cell, she thought about many things, from joining Batman, to retiring as Catwoman and snuggling up to Bruce. As each day passed, she learned to forgive him and that he only wanted to help her. However she was going to have to do something about those girls that he dated. There was no room for two women of Bruce Wayne's affection. That just wasn't going to work.

However on the other hand, she thought about turning completely evil. To steal and kill and not have a damn care in the world. She knew how fast things could change, like a blink of the eye she could go from perfect to rotting in a cell.

Some nights were worse than others, and she sometimes stayed up and howled at the moon. It drove the prisoners around her insane, and sometimes the guards would threaten to beat her. She often told them that she'd like it, and she would /love/ to see them try. She spent many a night carving things into the wall, like Cat loves Bat and lines from some of her favorite books.

Blackgate was quite boring, but through the months between the time she had been locked up to the day before Harvey and Pamela got married she had thought about one thing: How fast things could change. So her goal was, once she got out of the hell hole was to change everything back in her favor.

Things could change like a blink of an eye from one extreme to the next. However until she got out of her cell, she couldn't change anything.

**Ooc: CAN YOU SAY HOLY SHIZZNAT 5,000 WORDS IN ONE DAY BATMAN? It's the end, and I've decided on a title, so that's why it's obviously changed from Gotham Knights to "In a Blink of an Eye". DO NOT WORRY, I've decided that Gotham Knights will be the series title, and I'll start typing again tomorrow, but my main goal is to get this edited really well and upload it all again nice and pretty. xD **


	11. The Joke's On You: Chapter 1

Christmas time; Joker loved Christmas time. It was a time that he could wreck havoc, and not only was he ruining their day, or their week but he was ruining their holiday. There was nothing like Christmas Havoc, it was his way of celebrating. He hummed a random Christmas song, before looking at the map of Gotham City.

What toy store would he destroy tonight? He ran his finger over the streets, something that was close and he could go to without any stress. Of course, he had been doing this for six months and he had yet to even be shot at by the cops. No one seemed to care; Batman wasn't that much of a threat. He had disappeared since Selina Kyle had been locked up in Blackgate. It was like no one else was worth his time. Of course Bats hadn't met him yet; but Joker had an idea that they would be good friends once Bats got to know him.

But how would they ever meet? Bats was up in his tower, or wherever he lived, and Joker was in his dingy apartment three days before Christmas Eve. That's why he needed to blow up one of those useless toy stores in the downtown. But which one? If anyone was buying Christmas presents on the 22nd of December, they were screwed anyway. Not only were most of the toys gone, but three days before Christmas? Talk about unprepared.

Continuing his hum, he looked back at the maybe. If he blew up the mall, he was not only getting rid of the largest stores in the city, but it would also cause a really big explosion. Joker liked explosions. Giggling lightly, he turned from the map. Where were his henchmen? They were useless things but he had some appreciation for them. Some, not a lot, but some.

They were fun to kill when they annoyed him too. He grabbed his knife from the table and stuck it in his pocket. "Boys! We have a job to do." When there was no reply, he frowned and walked towards the other room. When he opened the door, he heard one of his giggling laughing gas bombs sitting on the floor and in the middle of the room were three of his henchmen.

Well they got what they deserved. Playing with his toys when he wasn't around, didn't they watch the news? The laughing gas was the best part of what he died. So when he got the money, everyone could have a great laugh afterwards; including the bankers, the innocent civilians, or his henchmen.

He'd just have to do this job by himself, stepping into the room he grabbed the rest of the laughing bombs and stuffed them into a bag. He then continued his hum and stepped out of the other room. He almost felt sad that they had lost their lives... no, actually it was quite funny. He had warned them not to play with Uncle J's toys. Did they listen? Well, they were obviously dead, so they hadn't. He let out a little giggle, and shook his head, starting towards the door.

The building he lived in was empty, it was empty because if someone walked in and saw a green haired man with very white skin, he wouldn't put it passed them to call the coppers. The coppers had yet to be involved yet, and there was no reason to get them involved now. He didn't want to deal with the interrogation, the why did you do this, the who are you and what do you want, that. He was quite happy just avoiding the coppers, however he would have liked to meet Batman.

However, Batman was busy. Busy doing what, he didn't know. Selina Kyle, Catwoman, some prostitute that Joker was sure that he had seen on the side of the street before, was in jail and when she hadn't been, Batman had been out every single night. Now, she was stuck in Blackgate, rotting away in her cell.

Poor girl. Perhaps she was the way that he could get Bats to come out and play. Someone cared for her, perhaps it was Bats, perhaps not. Those few months ago he had heard that Bruce Wayne had dated Selina Kyle. He didn't know why he found that so amusing, but he couldn't see why a billionaire would like a woman who had to sell herself for money.

Joker skipped down the hallway, twirling and humming and just overall happy. He had an idea, he didn't know if it would work, but it was worth trying. If a few people happened to die, as long as it wasn't him, who the hell cared? He laughed at the thought and started down the stairs. He felt like Santa Claus, with a bag over his shoulder and humming Christmas songs that everyone knew.

"Dashing through the snow... on a one horse open sleigh, over the hills we go... laughing all the way..." As he sang he let out a evil laugh as he jumped from stair to stair. This was fun, without his idiotic henchmen bugging him the whole time, he could do whatever he wanted. He didn't have them to weigh him down, to ask stupid questions, to be worried about food.

Joker leapt off the last step, giggling and walking out of the front doors of the abandoned apartment building. It was perhaps a ten minute walk from here to the mall, and he wasn't sure how he was going to go about doing this. He could always say he was dressed for Halloween, and when he got questioned, he'd giggle and say, "oh... is Halloween in October? I thought it was in December... heeeehee.." He could see it now, the many people being confused by his odd ways. That's how it had always been. But was this a big surprise? He WAS the Joker, the man of his previous life was gone.

What previous life? Well he hadn't been like this forever, but he didn't feel like thinking about it at the moment. He didn't want to remember what he didn't need to, it was too painful. He didn't want to cry. Shaking his head and beginning to hum the song once more, he walked down the road, looking at the ground. Not many people were walking at this time, then again it was December 23rd at 10 o'clock at night. Most people were home with their families.

Poo on families, Joker thought and looked around. Even the hobos weren't around walking and begging for money, THAT he found hilarious. Ha. Even the hobos were celebrating the holidays, or they had all froze to death.

Another giggle escaped Joker's lips. He mused and ran his fingers through his hair and hummed. He continued his walk and finally arrived at the mall, pulling on the door he found it was locked.

Really? He frowned and kicked the door, probably a bit harder than he should have. The whole door shattered under his kick, and he couldn't HELP but giggle after that. No alarms, surprisingly. He stepped into the building, grabbing his laughing gas bombs and looking for someone like a janitor or someone who stayed after late to kill.

No one? Pity. This wasn't going to be as fun as he thought. Sighing, he grabbed one of the normal bombs, tossing it over his shoulder. It wouldn't go off until he left the mall. Well, unless he had to make a run for it. Hmmm, he tossed another here and another there, each beeping lightly at him.

"Ohhhh, shutttup." He laughed and started up the escalator, tossing a few more bombs here and there. He was still surprised he didn't hear sirens yet. Oh well, if they weren't going to come after him, he wasn't going to call for the attention. He tossed another bomb into another store, he walked passed a clothing store and eyed one of the purple suits. That was a good looking suit, maybe he would have to grab that before he left. He stepped into the store, grabbed the suit and walked out of the store.

Oh. NOW they were going off. Damn clothing stores and their annoying alarms. Joker pouted and started towards the front door, each of the bombs were beeping significantly louder. They each had a five minute timer for each of them, from the time he threw them until well they went off.

He started out the front door, no more bombs in his bag, except for the laughing gas bombs, and there was no one to use those on. He wasn't going to waste his amazing bombs on nothing, which would just be a waste. So as Joker skipped back to his apartment, he was only about 100 feet away when the five minutes expired and the exploding began. Some before others, but the sound of the building going BOOM was a wonderful sound, so were the screams of the people that were in their cars, right by the mall.

"STOP CLOWN," awh they caught up with him. While this was a bit more than just a little depressing, Joker didn't hesitate breaking into a run. He wasn't fast, he had never been a very good runner but he was faster than the coppers, and he ran all the way to his apartment, and waited for either someone to start shooting or for the coppers just to leave him alone. They left him alone, but he did make the news that following hour.

"Joker has made his move once again. How long will it be before Batman goes after the clown terrorist?" Joker held his hand to his heart and gasped at the words of Summer Gleeson, how dare she! Stupid girl, calling him a terrorist, he wasn't a terrorist. He was the Clown Prince of Crime; there was a difference after all. He did this for fun, terrorists well… okay maybe they did it for the same reasons, but he wasn't one. Nope, they would have to come up with some other word for him.

He did wish Batty would hurry up with finding him and trying to "stop" him, because he was going to look forward to see the Dark Knight try. He doubted that he would be able to, and if he could, well he deserved the kudos that he would get for taking him down. It wasn't like there was another challenge that he could be going after, perhaps the Dark Knight was too busy with his own life.

Somehow Joker doubted that Batty had a love life, maybe he was wrong. Maybe Batty had moved on from Kitty, oooh, Kitty was going to be mad when she heard that.

Author's Note: XD And so begins part two of the Gotham Knights series. I seem to make these chapters longer, I dunno if this is good or bad. Anyways, along with this a one-shot with Joker and Harley is up. X)


	12. The Joke's On You: Chapter 2

Bruce Wayne had never _liked_ Christmas since he had been eight years old, he had never gotten into the Christmas spirit since he had been that little boy that had his parents with him. However with the situation he was in now, Harvey getting married in two years, and Barbara being six years old (how could he not get herself something?) he had to feel slightly Christmas-y. However when hearing on the news that the mall had been blow up, Bruce frowned at the television.

It wasn't like he didn't want to stop the madman, which was all Joker was, he was a madman that liked to destroy things for no reason. He just… hadn't felt like being Batman. He didn't know why, but he had lost the urge to stay up until late hours of the night and do nothing but jump from rooftop to rooftop and beat the hell out of thugs. He didn't see the point anymore, well he did but it wasn't the same as six months ago when people had been afraid of the dark in Gotham City. Now they had Batman to depend on, and things were still going on. The need to protect the people was still there, but he didn't want to have to be the one to do it.

He had lost interest. He didn't know what he could do about it, he didn't want to run around dressed like Batman and save people. Even Batman deserved a break, didn't he? He was still thinking about Selina when he should have moved on, she was just so…

"Bruce are you listening to a thing I'm saying?" _No, Harvey, I'm still thinking about that girl that _you_ set me up with and I can't get out of my head. _"Anyways, so my bachelor party is tomorrow. I'll expect you to be there." Of course, Bruce was going to be there. He had been planning on this for month's now, but he had also been planning on having Selina had his side at their wedding. But that wasn't going to happen, Selina was going to be in jail until they were over forty. He had to keep reminding himself of this. He didn't _want_ to move on but he needed to move on. He just… missed her. Was that normal? To miss someone you knew less than two full weeks and miss them when they got locked up?

No, it probably wasn't, but neither was dressing up like a bat and trying to save Gotham. He let out a loud sigh subconsciously, before shaking his head and finding Harvey staring at him. "Bruce… are you okay? Are you thinking about Selina again?" No. He wasn't, he wasn't supposed to be thinking about the woman that was possibly the worst and best thing in his life. The way she smiled, the way she laughed, the way that she practically threw her at him when he was Batman and her Catwoman. He missed her there was no way that he could deny that.

"Bruce?" He shook his head again, looking up and seeing Harvey staring at him with two raised eyebrows. He looked concerned, and had Selina not been his friend too, he probably would have continued to chat about his wedding. There was no big surprise there, seeing as Harvey had acted a lot differently since he and Pamela had gotten together. The same could be said about him though since Selina had been put in Blackgate. He couldn't help but feel bad, he had done that to her, and not only was she going to hate him as Batman, but Bruce as well.

"Sorry… Harvey, I was just thinking…"

"About Selina…"

"Yeah…" He couldn't say _no_. He didn't know why it was so difficult to lie to his best friend, but he found himself unable to. He had to tell Harvey that he was still thinking about her. No matter how he shouldn't, he was and it was practically driving him crazy.

"Oh, Bruce… I thought you were over her…" He wished he was over her. He wished that every night when he tried to go to sleep he didn't end up staring at the ceiling thinking about what SHE was doing, what SHE would be doing if SHE were with him. How he wondered how fat their relationship would have gotten over the last six months. Harvey and Pam were getting very serious, after all their wedding was in two days, and they seemed to be more of a couple than before. He wondered if he would be proposing to Selina had she not been in jail. He wondered if she would have really stopped and gave up the life of crime to be with him.

Things like that were difficult to get over. No matter how much Bruce wanted to try and stop being Batman, he couldn't. The thrill, even though it wasn't as addicting now as it had been, was still something he needed in his life. It was one of the few things that kept his routine normal; everything besides his second life had changed. He had even tried dating, nonetheless it had _failed_ and he had discovered that dating journalist was not something that he wanted to do. Vicki had been nice and all, but it was like trying to empty a void in his heart.

Well didn't that sound cheesy? He needed to talk to Alfred about this condition later, he didn't need to become emotionally attached to a woman to the point he felt like there was a hole in his heart. That just wasn't healthy, or normal. Since when had someone like Selina _ever_ left a lasting touch on him for six months? The break-up with Claire had been brief and easy, and while she may have still had feelings for him, he didn't have feeling for her. He didn't want to, she was a bit evil. After all, had Selina _not_ been Catwoman, she probably still would have been behind bars for just being accused of stealing Claire's things. No one could _ever_ do that without the law getting involved. Bruce didn't want to get involved with that. Claire was a wonderful girl, but they had broken up for their obvious reasons. The fact that she would have never understood that he had been building up to the point of becoming a vigilante would have been one of those reasons. Had he ever tried to explain that to Claire, like he had wanted to with Selina…

She would have understood. She had her own double life, and while he didn't approve of it… it was still the same thing that he was going through on his own. Damnit, his thoughts were so wrapped up tightly in his head that it was driving him crazy and he wasn't even listening to what Harvey was saying anymore.

"Harvey, I just remembered something. I have to go visit Jim before the day's over, I have to give Barbara her Christmas presents." The look on his friend's face was filled with disappointment and Bruce shuffled his feet and stood from the table. It took him a moment to figure out where the hell he was, he was in a café and he was eating lunch with Harvey. He looked down at his plate and discovered he hadn't even been eating.

Whoops.

"I'll see you tomorrow Harvey, but I have to go for right now." He really was going to see the Gordon Family. He had been planning on it after lunch, but right now he just needed to get out of the place that he was feeling uncomfortable and being surrounded with thoughts with Selina. He couldn't help the fact that when Harvey was around he thought about Selina, that was who introduced them, and he couldn't help it.

So he left and go into his camaro, getting his cell phone out and dialing Gordon's number. "Hello?" It was Jim's voice and he sounded kind of tired. Then again, so would Bruce if he had to… oh wait he did, and he was. However Commissioner Gordon was a great man, he had been since Bruce met him as a child. Bruce enjoyed visiting the family, he felt like Barbara needed to be spoiled. Her parents didn't do enough of it, Bruce knew it was rough times and he took the job of spoiling six year old Barbara into his own hands.

Seeing as he had never had a little sibling or any kind of younger family to be around, he was find with spoiling her. It was like having a very young sister, or a daughter, but Bruce wasn't exactly ready for the thought of considering Barbara as a daughter-like figure. Barbara was quite happy with the Father and Mother she had, Bruce didn't want to interfere. However he did love the little girl, she was just so… Bruce didn't know how to describe her but she was quite welcome in the Wayne Manor.

"Jim? It's Bruce, I'm on my way over with Barbara's things…"

"Bruce, didn't I tell you not to do that?"

"Ha, Jim, you know I don't mind."

"That's what worries me. The next thing you'll be doing is giving her a credit card when she gets to become a teenager."

Gordon was quite accurate with that statement, but neither Bruce nor Gordon would know that for a very long time. Bruce continued the conversation with Jim until he got very close to the Gordon home. He hung up with the older man and once he arrived he climbed out of his car and grabbed the things from the back seat. He heard the front door click open and he heard the soft little voice of Barbara yelling at him, "Bruuceeeeeeeeeee!" She had ran all the way from the front door to his car, barefoot in almost freezing weather. Her hair was down and she was bouncing up and down in front of him, her winter coat was only half on. It wasn't buttoned up all the way and it looked like she had only taken about ten seconds to put it on, which she probably had. He was surprised that she had managed to start her jacket.

"Whatcha got Bruce? I gotta show you everything I got for you, and you've gotta see my room. It's changed since the last time you were over here. It's pretty now, and not plain and… we got a kitty!" She grabbed his hand and dragged him towards the house and once they got inside, Jim started lecturing her about putting shoes on before she went outside. She had looked at him and rolled her eyes. She was not even seven yet and she was showing the signs of being a teenager. She had skipped from kindergarten to third grade and Bruce could definitely see that the older children were rubbing off on her. She continued to pull Bruce's arm to her room. It wasn't _that_ much different, it was purple instead of the plain white walls and the furniture had been arranged differently, but that was about it. Oh, and there was a small little kitten on her bed.

"And that is Batman…" She said as she went to pick up the small kitten, he couldn't help but softly smile at the fact that she had named her cat after the Dark Knight. Of course, he was sure there were dozens of other Batman cats in the city of Gotham, but this one was just special. Barbara and Batman hadn't even met and she was naming animals after him. It made him just a bit happier with what he was doing. He had gained the respect of a little girl like Barbara and her Father to where he allowed his little girl to name their cat after him. Barbara went over to the sleeping kitten on her bed and picked him up; she kissed his little head and then went over to Bruce and held him up. "Batman, this is Bruce Wayne. Bruce this is Batman." He couldn't help the smile that spread on his lips; he reached down and scratched the kitten on the head.

"I didn't think he'd be so tiny," He was pretty sure even Batman couldn't have resisted how _cute_ Barbara was with the kitten in her arms. "After all for being a vigilante that roams the city in the night." As he said this, the small kitten blinked his eyes at Bruce and mewed lightly at him. That could have melted the even coldest of hearts.

"He says the television portrays him differently than he is. He's not big and bulky, he's just a baby. However he is a vigilante that protects people, like Daddy at work." She held the kitten like a small baby, bouncing him up and down. "My room is his secret lair, his Batcave, 'cause y'know Batman has to have a secret lair." She nodded and giggled, putting the kitten on the floor. Bruce didn't know how she heard the things she didn't, or perhaps she just had an active imagination, but he was _almost_ buying that the kitten was Batman. If he wasn't the Dark Knight himself. "Batman protects the whole city, including me…"

Batman _had_ to protect Barbara, he had that kind of bond with the little girl that caused him to be prepared if something ever happened to her. He didn't want to think about it but it was very possible, especially with a maniac out there. If something _happened_ to her, he wouldn't be able to forgive himself as either Batman or Bruce Wayne. If something happened, he would have no choice but to have to tell Jim. That was why he didn't want to take that risk.

That was also why he would never let her know that it was _him_ who was Batman, if she found out she would probably want to join him in his quest for justice. She was only six though, six years old and wanting to help him out. He could see it very easily, and he would have happily have taken her would something happened to her mother and father. He would have let her that way, but under normal circumstances it would never happen. He couldn't see why he would ever need a sidekick. Sure, he couldn't do everything, but he could as sure as hell try.

"That he does, come on Babs, I have presents for you." Bruce patted her on the head, and she looked up at him with huge blue eyes. She happily squealed and practically jumped on Bruce. However the cat freaked out and meowed unhappily in between the small girl and Bruce. Barbara cringed and set the kitten down, apologizing before looking back up at Bruce with expectant eyes.

"I have presents for you too, Bruce…" She nodded and went inside of her room, grabbing something from the side of her bed and walking out of her room. She refused to let him even take a glance at it, even though the presents were poorly wrapped and he couldn't make out what it was just from the way they were wrapped. "I wrapped them and thought of them all by myself." She said, dragging Bruce into the living room and sitting on the floor next to the Christmas tree. There were some presents underneath the tree, however not a lot. Bruce assumed that Jim and Barb were going to put the last of her presents underneath the tree when Barbara was asleep on Christmas Eve.

"Well, don't tell anyone you heard it from me _but_ Santa delivered these to me early." Her eyes widened and as Bruce went to get the presents that he left by the front door, she got up to follow.

"Barbara be patient you!"

"But Daddy… I wanna see what Santa got me…" She stayed on the couch, pouting lightly until Bruce came back into the room.

Gordon was sending Bruce one of those "you shouldn't have" faces; he couldn't say it aloud because Barbara would have realized that Bruce wasn't exactly Santa Claus and that he had lied to her. Bruce shrugged his shoulders and handed the first present to her. She opened it and stared at the gift. Barbara thought it was a _very_ expensive necklace, which it was; it was a gold chain with a B as the charm. The B was made out of diamonds, it sparked in the light. Barbara couldn't even find words to say to Bruce as she stared at the necklace.

"Bruce…" Jim said disapprovingly, Bruce looked over and shrugged his shoulders again.

"It wasn't me, it was Santa."

"Well Santa was very _generous_."

"That's Santa for you, Jim. There are more, Babs…" Barbara put on the necklace, and while it was just a bit too big for her, Bruce knew she would eventually grow into it. She was only six, and he had bought the necklace hoping she would wear it and grow into it.

Barbara opened up the second present, after shaking it and trying to listen to it. It was a book filled with myths and folklore; he knew she loved things like that. After all, she had spent days upon days in his library reading Le Morte D'Arthur, when she had finished she had _adore_ it and wanted more books like it. Since then, he had been trying to find something good for her to read. This book was perfect. She was practically bouncing in her seat as she flipped the back of the book over and began to read. "One more thing and you can show me what you got me." Barbara beamed at him and giggled happily in her seat. He took the third and final present from his side and placed it in her lap. This one wasn't _that_ special, but it was better than nothing, right? It was a purple kitty pajamas that she could wear around, along with the top and bottom it came with little slippers and "ears" that she could wear so it was a matching outfit. Bruce knew the little girl loved cats, so it was something he saw and thought of her.

"Thank you Bruce for getting them from Santa…" She smiled at him, and hugged him tightly. Bruce smiled and returned the hug. "Now, my presents for you are awesome, I couldn't get in contact with Santa so he didn't wrap them or anything…" She sheepishly smiled and grabbed his presents for her side. The first was barely covered, and with the shape of it he could tell it was a tie. He laughed softly at the thought that Barbara got him a tie.

"For your business meetings and stuff…" She grinned, shrugging her shoulders. She handed him the second present, and it was a watch (which Bruce knew that Jim _had_ to help her out with, what little girl had enough money to buy an adult watch?). It was like some of the ones he had laying around the house, he wasn't going to say: Oh Barbara I have one of these. Which he surely did, somewhere, it'd ruin the moment of her gift-giving. She handed him the third present and looked down, "I talked to Alfred about this one…" When he opened it, it was a picture of him and his parents when he had been around Barbara's age. The frame it had originally been in had been old and kind of dirty, and Barbara had always said something to him about it. He hadn't even noticed that it had gone missing. The new frame was new and very wonderful; it made the old picture seem so much better looking with just the easy replacement of the frame.

The little girl knew how much his parents had meant to him, and while she couldn't remember her birth parents, her aunt and uncle were doing a fine job at raising her. He didn't put it passed Barbara to have come up with all three ideas by herself.

"Thank you Barbara…" He smiled and pulled her into another hug, while she wasn't embarrassed to hug him she seemed embarrassed to be thanked for her presents.

"No problem, Bruce… I woulda gotten you something better but…"

"They're just fine the way they are, Barbara."

She grinned up at him and hugged him again. "Merry Christmas… Christmas Eve's Eve?" She couldn't seem to find the words for the day. Though she was right on spot, that's what he had always assumed it was called.

"Heh, it's something like that Barbara, so Merry Christmas Eve's Eve."


	13. The Joke's On You: Chapter 3

Pamela Isley was beginning to realize that in twenty-four hours she'd be at her own wedding rehearsal. She'd be at a wedding rehearsal that she was planning to the kill the groom of. She didn't want to, and the fact that she was beginning to regret the thought she had to kill him wasn't a good time. Most of her just wanted to stay in Gotham City, curl up and have a good life with Harvey. Yeah, like that was going to happen. Not while she still had the ever growing blood lust, this wasn't her first time doing something like this. However this was the first time she was falling for the person she had to kill.

Maybe she didn't have to _**kill**_ him, maybe she could just poison him and leave town. That sounded like so much of a better idea. Then she wouldn't have to deal with the guilt that she killed the man that she was slowly falling in love with. Slowly, it was a very slow process. Going from being a single bitter woman, to a settled down engaged woman was a huge difference and she wasn't sure if she liked it or not. She adored Harvey though, his snuggle sessions and the way he held her at night. The things that she never got with anyone else, the other men in her life just cared about cleavage and the fact they could score. Not about her feelings.

Harvey cared about those, but perhaps that was the hypnotism. She had been making his doses lighter, and he seemed to act the same way. Or maybe this was just her imagination mixed with infatuation with him. "Pam… it's late… why aren't you in bed?" Harvey's voice, she had grown accustomed to him saying her name. She could listen to his voice for the rest of her life, if she ever got that option.

Oh… wait she did and she wanted to waste it and run. Well part of her did, the other part still wanted to stay. "I'm just thinking, about tomorrow, about Christmas. About our wedding…" She mused lightly at the thought, she had her gown all picked out. She loved the way it fit her, she wasn't sure what was more important making an example out of Harvey or listening to her heart?

"You're not getting cold feet are you?" He grinned softly at her, sitting down next to her and hugging her around the shoulders. He kissed her cheek and nuzzled his head into her neck, she could feel him inhaling and exhaling on her neck, shivers went down her spine. How in the world was she going to do this? They were just so** perfect** together and she was going to go and ruin it all. This wasn't fair. This was the most of an inner-self battle she had had in years. She was going insane, more so than she normally felt. She just wanted to crawl up into a little ball and cry. This wasn't fair, her life was _perfect_ right now and she was forcing herself to leave it.

"No, I'm just thinking Harvey. About everything… us, you, me…" She grinned sheepishly and blushed when he kissed her neck. "Stop that…." She whimpered, flailing lightly at him. "Stop that, I'm too tired." He laughed and tugged her close to him.

"I love you; I really wish you wouldn't get cold feet…"

"They're not cold… they're just mildly cool."

"Oh…?"

"Besides, I have a surprise for you tomorrow before the rehearsal."

There she had decided, she had decided that she wasn't going to kill him. It would have hurt her heart far too much to something like killing him, poisoning would be efficient enough. That would work, then she could leave. She felt bad, or would feel bad for putting him in the hospital. However, while they were having a good relationship it wasn't that bad of a romantic one. They didn't kiss that often, but she didn't _want_ to kiss him that frequently due to the fact if she kissed him too much her _surprise_ wouldn't be a surprise.

"I'm looking forward to it, Pam." Harvey said, kissing her cheek again, causing her to blush and her stomach flipped. She had never thought that a man would make her stomach flip. Especially one so well behaved like Harvey; then again he would do anything she said: besides jumping off a clip. Though with the right tone and enough convincing, he'd probably do that too.

"So, is Bruce going to be at the rehearsal?"

"I'd _assume_ so... he is the best man, Pamela."

"True, but you know how Bruce is. Excuses, excuses."


	14. The Joke's On You: Chapter 4

Bruce, despite his many tries, could not figure out an excuse that would get him out of his friend's wedding rehearsal. He had to write the best man speech, and wear the tie; he had already spent too much time on this wedding that he didn't agree with. But he was ready, just like he was ready to host Harvey's bachelor party that night. He just had to figure out what time he had to be at the church, so he had called Harvey from his home, but got no answer. So he called a few more times, tried Pamela's cell phone, still no answer. After the fifth phone call he gave up and just got in his car and started towards Harvey's home. Maybe Harvey's phone was dead and Pamela just didn't want to answer him.

He didn't like it either way. He had a feeling that Selina was going to be right about the end product of this marriage, whether it was a messy divorce or something _worse_, it wasn't going to be pretty. After all his views on Pam still hadn't changed over the last few months, while she was nice and attractive there was no way he would have married her after a six month period. The one year plan had been a lot better.

He wondered if he would have been considering marriage with Selina at this point. Probably not due to the fact he lacked the ability to commit, and it had been a good thing so far. He didn't have any kids that he knew of, so he didn't have to be pressured into anything that he didn't want. Like a marriage to a woman that he hadn't even loved.

Bruce groaned and grabbed his phone from his pocket, dialing the number once more. Five rings later, there was still nothing. So he didn't hesitate to speed up in his car, making it more and more urgent to get to the Dent home. He was worried, perhaps it was the Batman paranoia kicking up, but there were many things that could have been wrong with Harvey.

It had taken him a total of 12 minutes to get from the Wayne Manor to the Dent home. Nonetheless, he had parked his car and then sped up to the house and knocked on the door. After waiting a minute and a half, he practically kicked the door down to get in.

"Harvey?" Surely if he was home, he would have reacted to Bruce busting down the door. For the love of God, it was only five. He was pretty sure he didn't have to be to the church until at least six thirty. He walked through the house, through each room looking for Harvey. Once the first floor was covered, he went upstairs and the first room he entered was the bedroom. There Harvey was, wearing only his dress shirt and pants, no shoes nor jacket over him. He was writhing on the floor, pale, eyes dark. Bruce wasn't sure what was wrong with him, but he wasn't going to take any chances and let his friend die in front of him.

He dialed 911, explaining the situation and then taking Harvey's body and leaning him up against the bed. His head rolled over, and he was fully unconscious to the point his body fell almost all the way to the side. This wasn't good, and Bruce found it incredibly suspicious that Pam wasn't there with her fiancé.

When Bruce started looking around the room, he found a note on the table. It was a woman's handwriting, neat and precise and at the end of the note there was a kiss mark.

Dear Bruce or whatever other soul that finds Harvey,

I've gotten bored with poor Harvey dear. Well, that's one of the many reasons I'm writing this. I was just going to kill him, but I decided to leave a permanent marking, or at least somewhat. Ha. He'll be able to be cured, it was just some simple poison mixed with my lipstick. I hope he enjoys the hospital, and the wedding gift from me.

His fate was sealed with a kiss,

Poison Ivy

Poison Ivy? Was this some kind of sick joke? So she was a psychotic flower child after all, a psychotic flower child that poisoned her victims. Bruce had read something like that in the news, a woman would seduce men and then kill them. Why hadn't she killed Harvey, why only poison him? If she had been the 'Black Widow' (which is what they called her in the papers) why didn't she just take another victim? Had she been attached to him?

Perhaps her wickedness had just left her, and she had decided to let him live. Bruce didn't know, but this was something that he should have listened to Selina about. She had been right after all. Pamela had been in Harvey's life long enough to discover things about him. Credit card numbers, bank accounts, he wouldn't have put it passed her to take all of his money and then skip town.

And people wondered why Bruce didn't date; this was one of the many reasons: women were wicked and led to nothing but trouble. Selina had been example one, Ivy was example two, only one more example would be needed before the point was proven in his head. Of course, following Christmas was the New Year and perhaps 2013 would lead to new things in the world. Less chaos, perhaps Gotham City would be free of crime.

Or there would be more of it. Batman was still waiting on meeting Joker, even though he had yet to make an appearance. A proper one, outside of television and threatening the public, what was he supposed to expect from a clown. He was going to avoid him, more than likely at all costs. Clowns and bats didn't get along, at least he didn't think they did.

There had been no reason for them to knock, as the door was practically busted down and open. He had called them upstairs and Harvey was soon on a stretcher on the way to the hospital. As much as Bruce wanted to breathe, he couldn't. If someone like Ivy could get into their lives and mess with them, what did that mean for someone like the Joker? Ivy had been obvious, and the Joker seemed to be like someone who could act. If he could act, that meant there was chaos involved.

Bruce called Gilda later that night, informing her that Harvey was in the hospital. She was bit stand offish, however when Bruce had told her what the letter had said she had started bawling, and said she would be there in the morning when he came to visit. Summer Gleeson made it known on the news as well.

"District Attorney, Harvey Dent was poisoned by his fiancé Pamela Isley, who is now calling herself Poison Ivy. She was a biologist and she is considered highly dangerous and if you _see_ her, please contact the Gotham City Police Department at _this_ number. We do not want a wacko like her out on the streets. Speaking of wackos, _The Joker_ has sent the Mayor of the city a video that says if he does not send him one billionaire dollars by New Year's Eve, _or_ Batman does not try to stop him, then people _will_ die. We are releasing the video just in case you see him on the streets, if you do. Do _not_ approach him, call the GCPD as soon as possible and be discreet about it. Warning this video contains frightening images and may not be for the faint hearted."

Bruce turned off the television; he didn't need to see it. While he hadn't met the madman, he knew what was possible in the world, and he had a feeling that if Gotham City could have a Cat Burglar, a psychotic Flower Child, and a Clown, then anything could happen. Really anything could happen, and this was possibly the worst thing that could happen to Gotham City. Nothing was happening to improve it, Harvey had been its only hope and he was in the hospital. There was nothing that they could do about it, at least not right now, not while he was in the hospital. Batman was the only person that could help the city in this time of need and Bruce was regretting the pressure that he was being put under.

And then the phone rang, and Bruce had answered it. "Hello?" It was Jim, and he sounded worried.

"Bruce, I take it you heard about Harvey?"

"I was the one that found him, Jim."

"Oh, damnit. I thought this was going to be a peaceful Christmas. Damn criminals… I didn't suspect _Pam_ of being the one who would do something like this. Do you remember when I told you about the Black Widow woman? I think she may be a lead to the murders of those men, the traces of poison in Harvey's system matches the type of poison in the other men's bodies. Except it wasn't _lethal_, it was as though she wanted to keep Harvey alive. Why do you think?"

"I have no idea, Jim. They were together six months; in that case, didn't you mention that the relationships lasted a generally short amount of time? Two or three weeks, and then she'd disappear and he'd be found dead?"

"Yes, Bruce, that's exactly what it said. Do you think that she was just leading us all on, or do you think she actually cared about Harvey? The way they acted…"

"Along with the traces of poison, there was something that was giving him more hormones than usual, something that was keeping him attracted to her. Hence the sudden change from Gilda to Pam, she _did_ something to him. Just like Selina said…"

"Selina Kyle? She said something like that?"

"She had her suspicions, however she had only met the woman once…"

"Do you think you could go talk to her, Bruce?"

"I… no, Jim. I don't think I could."

"Bruce, we need to know why she thought that."

"She didn't know anything, Jim."

"Do you _really_ know that, Bruce?"

He didn't, the things Selina had told him were possibly on a whim, or she could have known something. However the way she had spoke about the red headed woman, there was no way in hell that she had been her secret friend. There was just no way. She had hated her so intensely that there was a fire in her eyes when she had looked at him after talking to her.

"No, I don't… I suppose I could go…"

"Thank you, Bruce."

"No problem Jim…"

This was another thing that was going to ruin his Christmas, visiting Selina in jail. What could have _possibly_ gone worse? He didn't want to know, curiosity killed the bat. He didn't even want to think about what Gotham City had in store for him. Gotham City was a city full of surprises.


	15. The Joke's On You: Chapter 5

Christmas, Christmas, Christmas. Joker kind of regretted that he didn't have a family, that he didn't have a wife to hold or a baby to cuddle. He actually wanted a family, one day. He looked around the room he stood in, a wife and husband were tied up on the couch. This little girl was crying hysterically next to her parents. She was bawling and screaming and being quite annoying. She was maybe seven years old, blonde hair, blue eyes and dressed in a little dress. She wanted her Christmas presents, and he wasn't going to allow that.

"Hey, guess what little girl…?" He giggled as he walked over to the couch, tilting her head up and looking down at her with a very evil smile. "Santy Claus ain't real." She began bawling even more hysterically. "Santy Claus is just a lie that your parents tell you, to deceive you. But they should know that lying is naughty naughty…" He looked over at the woman and the man, giggling even more. The man was glaring at him with such passion that Joker didn't even care. He found it hysterical that he got so upset over some silly presents that were crappy anyway.

He had taken all of the presents and stuff them in a bag, he was dressed like Santa Claus. He hummed every few minutes or so. He waved towards the family, slinging the bag over his shoulder and saying, "Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. May it be filled with despair, death, and sorrow!" He twirled on his feet and skipped out of the house.

Oh, this was a wonderful night. He had done this to at least three families, but he wasn't done. These people were nothing, they weren't famous, they didn't have money. He wanted to make the rich ones, the political leaders, the coppers, etc. he wanted to make them cringe and suffer. Pity he couldn't, no one had any little children to…

Didn't the Commissioner have a daughter? He had seen pictures of the little girl, cute, bright red hair. Apparently she was really smart, but she was only seven. He could make her suffer, steal her little toys, and make Gordon regret that he worked for the GCPD. Yes, that's what he was going to do. Except, he didn't think Jimmy would be home tonight, the Commissioner was busy with all the crime that was going on. Harvey Dent had been poisoned, which Joker had found hilarious. His little cute red head friend had gotten a bit carried away, and poisoned him.

That was why he never trusted women. They were good for one thing and that wasn't anything that he was interested in right now. They were a pain in the ass too.

He skipped down the street and jumped in his car. He started off, curious if he could find the Commissioner's house from here. Then again everyone knew where the Commissioner was, his house was large, but not the largest in Gotham. That would have belonged to Bruce Wayne, but he had no children and robbing a rich man of no toys wouldn't be any fun. Robbing a little girl of all of her little toys would be WONDERFUL.

Maybe he'd take her hostage, and keep her until New Year's. After all he had already warned the city, he had warned them that if he didn't get money by New Year's people would die. That's exactly what was going to happen, he was going to knock Jimmy out and then take the little girl from her family. On Christmas Eve, oh this was going to be a joy. He let out a little giggled and pulled his steering wheel to a sharp left, swerving practically into another car and getting honked at obnoxiously.

"Ah bugger off ya moron!" The man yelled, rolling down his window and glaring highly at the clown. However when Joker turned and looked at the man, his eyes widened and he drove a lot slower. Joker had a tendency to remember faces, and the balding ugly man that yelled at him was something that he'd probably remember. Joker was too _happy_ to kill the man, at the moment, or even stop.

So the Joker continued to drove, giggling and causing mayhem in the streets. Swerving across the street was something that gave him a lot of joy. Causing crashes, possibly deadly ones, was even more fun. He couldn't help that he had such a sick sense of humor, well he could, but he didn't want to change it. That would be such a boring life.

He arrived at the Gordon household shortly before eleven, and he bounced towards the door. There wasn't a car in the driveway, but that didn't mean he couldn't make a little visit to the women of the home. He knocked on the door, and then rang the doorbell obnoxiously, to the point where he peeped in through the glass and saw an angry Mrs. Gordon wrapping a robe around herself and opening the door. Her eyes widened when she saw the Joker, and her mouth gaped open slightly.

"Hiya!" Joker giggled, and took a plant holder and hit her over the head with it. The glass shattered and the woman fell to the floor. He giggled and stepped over her body, bouncing upstairs and seeing a little girl standing at the top of the stairs. Her eyes were so big that she looked like she was going to burst into tears, if she had; he hoped that she was less annoying than the girl at the other home. However she seemed to be petrified.


	16. The Joke's On You: Chapter 6

"He has Barbara, Bruce. That _madman_ has her."

Christmas morning, 4 am, a call from Jim Gordon and Bruce couldn't go back to sleep. He was pacing the house, searching face recognition for anyone who could have been the Joker, if he could figure out where he lived, what car he drove, _anything_ that would lead him to finding out who the hell the Joker was. He needed to find Barbara, he needed to make _sure_ she was safe. He couldn't just leave that poor girl in the hands of a murderer, a man who was crazy beyond belief.

"This morning we are bringing sorrowful news, Barbara Gordon, 6, was kidnapped by the psychotic clown known as the Joker. He has said that if he is _not_ paid that not only will many other people die, but the little girl will as well." One billionaire dollars, even Bruce was willing to give it to the madman to save Barbara. He had to save her, he had to, and he couldn't have Barbara's blood on his hand because he failed to save her.

He couldn't fail.

It was like he could hear her crying, hearing her tell him that Batman was going to protect her. Batman _was_ going to protect her, and if he didn't, he wouldn't be able to forgive himself, period. All day the news report played and reminded him that she was gone, that she was in his hands and that his life depended on _him_. The city wouldn't pay him one billionaire dollars, if the city had that much money lying around it would have been put towards homeless shelters. Get the homeless off the streets and Gotham City would have been in a better condition.

Batman couldn't stalk the city during the day, Bruce had to do it. He spent hours upon houses outside of the Gordon's home, looking for footprints in the ground, or tire marks on the driveway. Anything that could help with finding her, as soon as the sun went down Batman had gone out.

He spent hours on the rooftops, going through the city and scouting out anyone that looked like they would know someone. While Gotham City had a lot of gangs, men who dressed up and painted their faces like clowns was not something that was usual, even for Gotham City. He landed behind the man, grabbing the man and slamming him into the brick wall in the alleyway. The man was terrified, and his eyes were wide in shock as he looked at Batman.

"Where is he?" He growled, looking into the man's eyes and looking at the paint that was on his face. It wouldn't even have been normal for a circus.

"I… I dunno… I… I… don't hurt me!" He screamed, and Batman only took his hold on the man and increased it. The man's breath became faster and due to the pressure on his neck that Batman was causing, he was trying to breathe more but he was getting less air.

"Tell me and I'll let you go." Batman growled, narrowing his eyes and slamming him back into the brick wall again.

"He's… he's in the abandoned apartments downtown. It's where he's holding the little gal!" That was enough for him, he let go of the man and he collapsed to the ground. He wasn't dead, probably just experiencing the lack of oxygen. He shouldn't have been siding with the Joker, and he wouldn't have to face Batman. Batman grabbed his grappling hook and grappled up to the rooftop of the building, before running across the rooftops and eventually landed near where he had parked the Batmobile. He jumped in and dialed the number for Commissioner Gordon.

"Hello?"

"Gordon, what are the abandoned apartments called downtown?"

"Walker Place, are you talking about those?"

"Perhaps, I'm not sure… don't start anything yet. I'm going to go there myself, if I need you, I'll make it clear."

"I hope you find that bastard, Batman, and get my little girl back."

"I'll will Gordon. I won't let him get away with this."

He couldn't, if he did, he would cause so many problems that it would be insane. He would have the guilty conscious, the blood on his hands and the thought that he couldn't have saved her. It was very similar to the fact that he didn't save him parents. Of course there was almost a twenty year difference, but the thoughts were still running through his head and the guilt would still be there. He couldn't let the Joker take her anymore from her family than he had. Bruce would _not_ be going to Barbara Gordon's funeral when she was only six years old.

He had to stop him. There were no ifs, ands or buts in this situation. He had to stop them and he had to stop him tonight. He couldn't see Barbara get killed, he couldn't see Barbara get hurt in anyway shape or form. The guilt…

He needed to find the Joker, he needed to find the Joker and he needed to take him down and get Barbara back. There was no possible way he could leave Barbara with who she was with. He needed to find out where she was, and when he did, there was going to be hell to pay. The sick clown would not be only paying with the bruises and beating that Batman would give him but also the fact that he'd be locked up in Arkham for possibly the rest of his natural life.

If not longer. Bruce, if not just Batman, was going to make sure that he paid for whatever he had done, or was even thinking about doing to Barbara. The poor girl was only six years old, what could he have done to a six year old little girl? Many things and more than ninety-nine percent of them were sick and twisted just like he had done to others in the city.

Batman hadn't gave up on the fact that he needed to go to the apartments, however he was just now figuring out where the hell those apartments were. They were maybe a fifteen, twenty-minute drive if traffic was bad. Even if traffic had been bad, Batman would have more than likely just ran them over with his Batmobile and called it a night. Well, after he beat the living hell out of the Joker.

He arrived quite quickly to the apartments, after he figured out where they were. They were run down apartments not far from where his parents had been shot down. Another thing that was on his mind was the fact that if Barbara lost her life here, then his parents' graves wouldn't be that far.

He didn't want to think about that, because it simply wasn't going to happened. It was _not_ going to happen, he would be home by the end of the night with little Barbara Gordon in his arms, delivering her to her father on Christmas night. How sick and heartless _was_ the Joker? How could he take the little girl from her home on the night before Christmas. He supposed that the Joker didn't care about holidays, nor families, nor morals. It wasn't like he was a monk, or priest. He was a cold blooded murderer four or five times over now. He wasn't sure how many people he had killed outside of the last few months.

It was going to stop tonight though. It was going to stop tonight, and there was no chance that it wasn't going to be over by tonight. It had to be. Joker was going to be behind bars, before sunrise, Barbara home and safe. He was certain of this and there was no chance for mistake or flaw.

He walked into the apartments, looking around for traps, triggers, cameras, anything that could give away his entrance to the Joker. He didn't want to warn the clown that he was there, if he did that then he would have the chance to hurt Barbara or get away. Neither was going to happen.

He tiptoed as much as he could up the stairs, trying to not let the stairs creak, or his footsteps be too heavy for him to notice. There was nothing downstairs, besides trashed deserted apartments, so there was no reason to even try to look. Then he heard it, Barbara's scream for help. While Batman wanted to believe that she had been doing this for the last few hours, it could have been because they knew he was there. She could be screaming for him to help her.

He continued up the stairs, his breathe held in his chest. He didn't want to screw this up, there was too much at stalk, Barbara was at stake. He couldn't lose her, he couldn't let her get hurt. It'd be _his_ fault, his fault for not being able to protect her.

All his fault.

There was another scream, and as he got closer the screams grew louder. It was Barbara crying out for help, and when he knocked the door down, he saw not Barbara, nor the Joker, but a tape recorder playing her screams over and over.

He wasn't there, he wasn't there and Batman had no clue where the hell he was going to be now. This was not good, not good at all.

**Author's Note: Okay, first Author's note of TJOY. Dramatic cliffhanger is very dramatic. xD**


	17. The Joke's On You: Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Joker had never been one to like children, but Barbara wasn't that bad. She could hold herself up against the Joker, okay, not really. He enjoyed poking and prodding her, making her cry. If she was only just a little older, she'd probably be throwing curses at him and telling him to get off her. Why was that so amusing? Now she was sleeping, he was letting her rest from the hours of torture he had put her through. If he killed her that just wouldn't be fun.

His henchmen squealing had been news he had found out fairly quickly, however he hadn't been pleased. He had to set up the trap and high-tail it to _another_ hideout in a matter of thirty minutes, if that. The brat had been crying the whole time, so it wasn't easy to sneak around with her screaming. He had to finally knock her out so he could transport her, screaming little gingers weren't easy to travel with when the whole city was looking for her.

He didn't think Batman was going to find him; it was highly unlikely at least. Due to the fact that he had moved across town, and well it was going to be hard to find him. Gotham City had many places that he could hide, and it was _excellent_. Even with the GCPD on his side, it wasn't likely that he was going to find him. They could search the whole damn city three or four times over, and there were _still_ places they'd miss. He had at least until New Year's to figure out what to do with Barbara.

Until then, he'd be working on the compound that would be lethal if they mixed the right things together. He'd put in everything, or mostly everything, but different levels of each thing. Some things would be deadly some wouldn't, so the possibilities would be impossible to figure out what would kill you and what wouldn't.

Either way, by New Years he would have enough poison to threaten the city with. They wouldn't know when they would be affected, or killed. The suspense was something that was going to be quite interesting to see Gotham City act out. He'd be happy with the city tearing itself apart, but that was just what he was hoping for, it could always drive people to insanity. Perhaps that was putting the bar too high.

His green eyes moved over to Barbara, she was stirring in her sleep. More than likely she was going to wake up soon and begin screaming again. Her eyes fluttered open and she looked at him, as though her dreams had deceived her into thinking she was out of his grip, but he had obviously proved her wrong. He was sure that she wanted to be home, it was Christmas. She would be getting presents and be safe and warm.

Not with her old Uncle Jay! Christmas was certainly going to be different this year for her, perhaps he could take her away every year, until she hit those teenage years and then he'd just kill her. Or something like that. Of course by the time she was a teenager, surely Batty would have made everything a challenge. Apparently Bats and Gordon were good ol' buddies, which meant he'd be around for the brat eventually.

"Why can't I go home?" Oh, she was speaking, not crying, or screaming? Well this was a surprise. She hadn't actually _tried_ to talk to him, just screamed and cried between the torturing. She shifted and sat up, rubbing the bruises on her arms, from where he had hurt her. She looked as though she was going to burst into tears again, with her large blue eyes staring at him. Damn children.

"Well kiddo," he moved and pinched her cheek, which made her cringe and got rid of her staring problem. "More than likely, you see, I'm going to kill you." Her eyes widened, and the tears started again. The simple crying became bawling, and Joker was soon stuck with a crying child. He should have just taken the Uncle Jay approach and tried _not_ to scare her. This kid was going to be scarred for life anyway, psychotic clowns kidnapping her, torturing her, and then telling her he was going to kill her. "Because your daddy isn't going to come and get you, because all you are is a pain in his ass."

"Daddy loves me." The girl insisted, wiping at her eyes and staring at the ground. She didn't want to be sitting here, crying, just because a psychotic clown was holding her hostage and she couldn't defend herself. "Besides, you don't know that. You're just a jerk, and Batman protects /everyone/." She was so wrong, Joker couldn't even begin to explain things to the little girl at the moment, he found her words too hysterical.

Laughing, he looked at her, grinning ear to ear as he spoke, "Oh? He protects everyone? What about those that were in the mall I blew up, or Harvey Dent? He wasn't there to protect him, now was he? What makes you any different than the rest of the people in this city? What makes your think that if it was between you and another little girl being murdered, what makes you think that he'd say you?" She was stunned, the tears were flowing even harder now, and Joker laughed at how pathetic she looked. She was only six, she didn't know anything about the world, she had another tweleve years before she'd even face the real world, so how would she understand what he was saying.

"You're wrong, he'd save us both." She retorted, glaring between the tears. Joker giggled as she continued, "He'd save the other girl first, and then he'd save me, because he knows you won't do anything until he's close enough to see it." A six year old knowing how he thought? Smart little brat, wasn't she? She was wrong, some what, enough for Joker to burst into little giggles as she spoke.

"Are you asking for more, kiddo?" If she wanted to be killed before Batman got here, he'd do it, he had no problem killing a little girl that was nothing more than a brat. She wasn't that annoying, but she was irritating enough he'd have no problem killing her. She shook her head, and went back to rubbing the bruises that he'd given her. She stopped glaring at him, and glared at the floor instead, her bangs flopping in her face as she looked down.

Joker moved back from her and began humming another random Christmas song, he was still in the Christmas-y mood, even if it was late in the evening. Christmas was almost over, he could stop being nice whenever he wanted. That was the only reason he hadn't killed her yet, the holiday.

Of course.

Barbara sulked where she had been sleeping and Joker went back to planning how much of his toxin he was going to put in each product. Maybe he could test it on the kid, and make it seem like an accident. Of course, he'd already be facing five counts of murder, this would be six. He had no chance in hell if he was caught.

He wasn't going to be caught. He was too deep into the city to be caught, it was an abandoned home in the northern part of the city. It was large and probably would have obnoxiously expensive, if it didn't seem like a place that was in a horror movie. Then again, this was sort of like a horror movie. He was going to win though, he wasn't going to be taken down by the end of the "movie". No silly person was going to take him down, he was smarter than them.

Joker continued to hum that son of his and mused happily as he thought the day over. It had been quite productive, however he'd be waiting on Batman until he got the toxin perfected and released it into the city. He could wait, torturing Barbara would be his fun for now.

He couldn't wait to meet Batman.


	18. The Joke's On You: Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

While Bruce wanted and _needed_ to find Barbara, it was the fact that he had other things to do, like go talk to Selina that was driving him mental. He wanted to go back to finding where she was, where the Joker was so he could beat the living hell out of the mad man. Maybe it was just the fact that he was pissed off, but his emotions seemed to be a lot more distracting than usual. It didn't help, at all that he had to go visit Selina in jail, where he had put her.

He had dressed nicely to go into Blackgate, the guards checked him and then led him to Selina's cell. Her hair had grown longer, and it was curly as always. She still looked good for being in jail for the last six months. She looked up and rolled her eyes at him when she realized that he was there. "Oh, what a wonderful surprise, Bruce. What do you want?" She narrowed her eyes at him, standing up, and walking towards the bars. She smirked at him.

"Come to free me from this cage? Oh, would I appreciate it, Bruce." She raised her eyebrows, and laughed. "I heard about Harvey, I told you she was no good, I told him as well. Did you listen? Of course not, now look where he is, in the hospital." She shrugged her shoulders and flipped her hair over her shoulder.

"So besides your gut feeling, you didn't know anything?" Bruce asked, watching her with his blue eyes. She shook her head, taking a seat back on her cot.

"No, I didn't. What, you think just because I liked to dress up in a cat suit, meant I was plotting with her? Harvey was my _friend_, and you were what I liked to think the love of my life…" The words hurt, and he couldn't look at her when she spoke. He couldn't get over the fact that she felt the same way he did, it wasn't his fault. There had been an attraction that they both had felt. They just weren't meant to be, though.

"So, are you here to interrogate me, or for a friendly visit?" She wiggled her eyebrows and grinned at him. He knew what she was thinking, and shook his head.

"Business only, Selina. I wasn't sent here to flirt with you. Despite what you may think." He sounded like Batman when he had said that, he wondered if she had put two and two together. More than likely no, it wasn't likely, not for her to notice at least. If she ever got free, he'd tell her. Once all twenty years were up, he'd tell her, and perhaps then she'd understand why he had to do it. By then he didn't know where he'd be. He'd be almost fifty by the time her sentence was up.

He was hoping married with a few kids, retired from the cowl for years. He couldn't see himself doing this for the rest of his life, maybe until the city was better and when that happened, when the crime was stable and it was _safe_ he'd stop. Until then, he'd have to be Batman.

"You're a bore, honestly." Selina retorted, rolling her eyes, and twirling her hair around her finger. "I need a haircut, or something, I'm getting tired of the long hair. What do you think?" She wasn't taking this seriously, and it didn't _sound_ like Selina, she sounded like Catwoman. The tone of her voice, her giggles, how everything was not serious to her. It wasn't Selina, it was Catwoman behind this bars.

"If you're done interrogating me, you can leave now." She nodded, towards the guards behind him. He didn't budge and he stared her down. "Ohh, that's a new look. I don't like it. It's scary…"

"Have you heard about the Joker?"

"Kidnapping the brat? Yeah, I heard that. Why?"

Barbara wasn't a brat, she was one of the best well-behaved children in Gotham City. Why people kept calling her a brat, he didn't understand. Obviously Selina had never met her, so she had no room to talk. "He's going to kill her if I don't find him." He had gone into Batman mode, and he had to shake his head before having to stop and think about it.

"You? Isn't that a big job for a rich playboy?" She retorted, raising her eyebrows at him. "You're starting to sound like Batman, rather than Bruce Wayne. Or perhaps you _are_ Batman. That would be wonderful, and almost as scandalous as me being Catwoman. Cat and Bat…." She seemed to look off to the distance, humming lightly. She remembered just as well as he did their meetings on the rooftops.

"If I was sneaking out every night, Alfred would have noticed by now…" Bruce retorted, trying to cover up for the lies he was telling. He felt bad; he didn't _want_ to lie to her. He wanted to tell her the truth, or at least tell Selina the truth. He wasn't sure who he was talking to.

"He's probably your accomplice, sidekick, whatever." Selina shrugged and hummed happily. "I don't care about your business, Bruce. You broke my heart, you should be glad I'm behind bars." Bruce didn't want to hear that anymore than someone wanted to hear their ex threaten their life. Bruce wanted to believe that he had done the right thing, that Batman had done the right thing. No matter how he had broken Selina's heart, and his own heart. He had done what had been needed to be done.

"I'm going to go, Selina…" Bruce said, trying to avoid looking at her, however she was staring right at him.

"Have fun love, try not to die on the way home." She giggled and leaned back on her cot, kicking her legs up in the air and staring at the ceiling. Bruce gave her one last look before walking back towards the exit. He felt horrible, this had done nothing to help his case, it had just made him feel miserable. She'd never believe that he loved her, like he was so certain that he did.

He exited the jail and walked towards his car. Today had done nothing to help him. He ran his hand through his hair and started his car. He wished that the sun would set quicker, so Batman could get back on the job.

As soon as he got home, he sat in a chair and turned on the news. Summer Gleeson was standing in front of a crime scene. "This morning, Angela Leton was found in her home, dead. She had a grin on her face ear to ear, however the authorities think that she possibly overdosed on some sort of drug, others believe that this is another crime cause by the Joker." Bruce scowled at the words, but continued to listen.

"There have been other reports today that other civilians have been found in their homes with the same smile on their face. Could the Joker be making person attacks now? So close to the New Year, what will the GCPD do with the rising crime rate? We will keep you posted on these horrible incidents."


	19. The Joke's On You: Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

Bruce ran his hand through his hair again, and pulled at it out of frustration. Not only was the Joker holding Barbara hostage, but he was _somehow_ causing people to die. He didn't know what he was doing to the people of Gotham, but he knew that it wasn't good at all. No. Batman was going to figure out what he was doing. He didn't know how he was going to do this by New Year's. The stress was beginning to get to him, there was so much at risk and he couldn't even properly think straight. Damnit.

"Master Bruce, what do you think the Joker wants?" Alfred asked, giving Bruce a glass of hot chocolate. Something that was going to calm Bruce down, thank God. Taking a sip of his drink, he managed to clear most of his thoughts. He sighed lightly and looked at Alfred.

"I don't know, Alfred. I don't understand how he thinks… He makes threats, but even if we _did_ pay him, he'd kill people anyway. He just wants to cause mayhem, and he's doing the job correctly." Bruce scowled and looked down into his hot chocolate. There were marshmallows floating on the top of the drink, he watched them float and he felt like he was a child again. Right after he opened his presents Alfred would make a glass of hot chocolate. It had always been able to calm him. He didn't know how, but he managed to do it.

"Go rest, Master Bruce. If you clear your head, you may be able to think straight and realize what he wants." He hadn't slept since Gordon had told him that Barbara was gone. Alfred knew this, he saw the way that he paced back and forth for hours upon hours in the middle of the night. When he thought he had something, he'd rush down to the Batcave and begin searching. He had listened to the tape with Barbara screaming over and _over_. Listening for anything that could be a possible clue.

Nothing ever came of it. Bruce stood and took his hot chocolate with him. "Thank you Alfred, please do wake me if someone calls." Bruce rubbed his temples and started towards the stairs.

Sunset passed quickly for Bruce, as he rested until the sun was down. He hadn't realized truly how much time had passed until he looked at a nearby clock, he went down to the Batcave and changed into his Batsuit. He got into his Batmobile, and began to drive out of his cave into Gotham City. Tonight, he had no choice but to find her. He didn't care how long it took him, but he wouldn't rest again until Barbara was safe at home.

He searched the city until three in the morning, listening to the radio he found out that three more people had been killed by _whatever_ Joker was doing. Not only was Barbara in danger but so was the rest of the city. Many were paranoid, shown by those who called in and expressed their worry on the radio. They wondered and questioned Batman method's, wishing that they would save the city and take down the Joker once and for all.

It wasn't like Batman wanted the blood on his hands. He didn't want anyone else to die, he wanted everyone to be safe by the end of the night. There was nothing to worry about; he knew he was going to get the Joker. He knew it and he had no choice to do anything but that.

It wasn't until 3:14 A.M that Bruce spotted something, three men with painted faces like that of clowns, they were walking down the street and soon went into an abandoned building not far from where the Batmobile was parked. How they hadn't seen him, he didn't know. Batman climbed out of his car and began to follow them. No screams this time when he entered the building, only the mindless chatter of the goons above him.

"What do you think the Boss is gunna do once the Bat shows up?"

"Kill the little girl, she's not worth anything anyway."

"The Commissioner's daughter? I'd reckon she'd be worth sumthing, I mean if I had a daughter and the boss had her… I'd pay."

"You don't have any money ya idiot."

Batman crept up the stairs behind him, grabbing one around the neck and covering his mouth so he didn't make any noise. They didn't seem to be armed. He let go of the man once he lost consciousness, letting his thud against the stairs. The noise didn't seem to bother the thugs in front of him, they just carried on their conversation.

"I don't think he's gunna show up before the boss finishes puttin' the toxin in everythin'."

"Well aye, ya never know."

Batman grabbed the second man and threw him over the railing, which this time the goon noticed. He turned and gasped a bit once he realized who was looking at him. His eyes wide, Batman didn't have to do anything except punch him and he fell easily to the ground. He wasn't sure whether he had passed out from shock or the punch.

He smirked to himself as he stepped up the stairs. Still no screams, nor any other sound in the building besides his own footsteps, he wasn't sure what this building was. He came to the top of the stairs and opened the door, stepping into another hallway.

"Bats' never gonna know what hit him!" The voice of the Joker hit Batman's ears and he narrowed his eyes in the direction the voice was coming from. The urge to beat the living hell out of him was growing as he stepped towards where the voice was coming from. "Boys? You get that thing I wanted?"

Oh, so they had been delivering something? He'd have to search their unconscious bodies later after he got Joker into custody. However when Batman turned the corner to find the Joker standing right in front of him, back to him. He found it all too easy to go after him. "If you're looking for me, yeah, they got it."

The Joker turned, only to grin at him, laughing at him. Batman's scowl increased as he was laughed at, finding it too hard not to punch him hard in the face. He couldn't resist the urge and punched him hard to the point where he staggered and fell against the counter behind him. He continued laughing. "About time, Bats. I thought you were gunna let the little girl die, some hero you woulda been then, huh?" He giggled even more, throwing his head back and laughing.

Another punch, this time his head made contact with the cabinet behind him. This time his giggles were less enthusiastic with the pain going through his head. However he ran towards the other room, he kicked opened the door and Batman caught a brief sight of Barbara. The clown grabbed her, and the sound of her scream went through his ears and for a moment Batman was stunned.

He was watching the clown as moved out of the room and edged towards the window. He didn't know what he was going to do but he was almost prepared for anything. Actually, he had not been prepared for him to throw the six year old little girl out of the window and then laugh hysterically. "Are you going to catch me or save the little one? Which is more important?" As much as he didn't want to hesitate, he ended up doing so more than he liked, before he decided that Barbara was more important than a lot of things, and jumped after her.

The fall seemed too long and she seemed too far away. How he managed to grab her and grapple to the rooftop to save them from too hard of a fall. When he looked down at her, she was crying hysterically and had her head nuzzled into his chest. He lowered them to the ground slowly.

That had been too close for comfort, too close for anything that Bruce wanted to go through again. No, oh no. Not again, never would that happen again. He would not get that close to losing someone, nor would he hesitate something like that. He didn't even know why he had hesitated, but he had and just the thought of having lost her was something that he couldn't stand.

He looked up towards the window, and surprisingly the Joker was not there, giggling. He had gotten away, and he was still on the loose. While this wasn't the worst thing that could have happened, it was up there. But for now, he was just glad Barbara was safe. Cut and bleeding, yes, but safe.

It only took a half an hour or so for Commissioner Gordon to get there. Barbara had ran towards him and clung to him like nothing else. "Daddy, Batman saved me!" Bruce over heard her saying as she was tightly hugging him. She was still crying, due to the cuts and the glass in her skin, however she seemed to be fine with the pain for now. Bruce was pretty sure that she was just happy to be safe in her father's arms, if he was in her situation, he would be too.

"Thank you, Batman." Gordon said to him as he held his daughter tightly in his arms. Batman just nodded his head. There was no reason for him to thank him; it was something that was practically built in his job description. Okay, maybe not, but it was close enough for him. He had no problem saving Barbara, and he didn't need to be thanked for it. Even if it had been ridiculously close.


	20. The Joke's On You: Chapter 20

Chapter Ten

Selina found the days that followed Christmas Eve and Christmas slow and boring. How on New Year's Day it seem all worse. She missed her family; she missed Bruce, more than she liked to ever admit. She didn't want to admit that she missed him, she didn't want anything to do with him. But she was supposed to be going to Harvey's wedding today. She supposed that wasn't happening. Of course was that any surprise? She had called Pam's fake attitude, her fake everything. Now she was sitting in jail, when she had done nothing but steal, but Pam had attempted murder. The crazy red head deserved to be here right beside her, facing more years than her even.

Selina stared at the ceiling. This was the third time that night that she had been counting the ceiling tiles. Click. Why did that sound like her cell had just unlocked? She looked over to see her cell slightly open. She could hear the screaming of the other, apparently free, inmates. On top of the screams could she hear a giggle, high-pitch, that giggle turned into a laugh and the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. That laugh was insanely creepy.

"Miss Kitty," she looked up to see a clown standing in front of her open cell. He was looking her up and down as though he was examining her. "How much do you want to get revenge on the Bat?" She didn't answer, because she wasn't sure how to answer that question. Cat wanted more revenge than Selina did, seeing as Selina was beginning to piece things together, and those things were showing that Bruce was possibly Batman.

She doubted, and found it kind of funny if, Bruce was Batman. A billionaire playboy, running around and playing masks during the night time, it was different for a poor little girl to be playing dress up and stealing things. Bruce? Like he had said, someone would have noticed if he had been sneaking out every night. She almost wished he was, and then she wouldn't be so mad. Batman was Batman, and Bruce had to cover up for Batman, so either way they were the same person doing what they thought to be right. Even if they locked her in a cell and threw away the key, it was the right thing.

"A lot," she answered, though she lied. She had heard what he had done to people; she didn't want to get on his bad side. However she wasn't sure whether or not that could be done by telling him the truth, and pissing him off or lying to him and him finding out. She didn't want to risk it, but she really didn't have a choice now did she?

"Good, you can be my little pet for this experiment I have." Oh fun, puns. Was he trying to be funny, because she wasn't laughing? She fought the urge to glare daggers at him, though the thought at the back of her mind that he could kill her was keeping her from doing so. "I want you gain his trust, reel him in with what you… probably do best. If you can bring him to me, I'll let you share the prize. His identity, he's too… fun to kill."

She wouldn't have agreed to killing him anyway, but this she could just nod her head and smile to. She wasn't going to play along; there was no way in hell she was going to play along. She didn't trust him, why would she trust a person that she didn't even know? Besides, she wasn't set completely against Batman, especially if he WAS Bruce. Maybe she couldn't convince him to be her stealing buddy, but perhaps she could be his side-kick, or lover… apprentice? Something, something was better than nothing after all, right?

"Fine, I'll play him. But I expect more than that, I'll let you know what I want when I think of it." He giggled, laughed, and rolled his head back as if that was the most hysterical joke he had ever heard. However once he stopped laughing his eyes were narrowed and he was smirking.

"Good, if you didn't play along I was going to have to put some Joker X in your cosmetics." He retorted, smirking at her, causing her eyes to widen slightly at the words. That wasn't what she had expected as a threat. She had heard what had happened from the guards, the thought of dying with a grin like his on her face was a frightening one. No matter how silly that sounded.

"Now, little kitty. You are free to leave your cage, and when I see you again, I expect to see a Bat on your claws." With that, he started humming a random Christmas song and skipped off. Selina was probably more frightened than anything she had faced before. He was so... strange and the situation of being out of jail was wonderful. However she had to bring him Batman.

Perhaps she could tell Batman to play along, and it'd work out both ways. She'd end up double crossing both of them, and making everything better for herself. Maybe, but she didn't know what the end would be. By the end of it all, the joke could have ended up on her, or him, or Batman. It was all up for grabs now, and depending on who played what card, the game could be changed so quickly and easily.

She sighed lightly as she stepped outside of her cell, her cage, and realized she was free. She was free after only six months, and she was free to make Gotham City pay for what they did to her. Now, wherever was she going to begin? She couldn't go around the city as Selina Kyle, unless she got her named clear. She wondered how long that would possibly take.


	21. Batman Origins: Joker

How was he going to take care of Jeanie and the baby? He didn't even have a proper job to support his wife and baby. Not that it was his baby anyway. He doubted it, Jeanie was exactly the most faithful person in the world. While they had been married for three years, she had never wanted a baby. Until recently, when she had found out she was pregnant. She said that she had just found out when she was three months along, but even _he_ had been noticing she had been gaining weight. He heard her puking in the morning, how miserable she looked. He had known before she admitted she knew.

Now, his career as a comedian was failing. No one enjoyed his jokes, no one laughed, no one even clapped at the end except Jeanie when she came. She told him not to worry about it, she told him not to worry about things like money, money wasn't essential. No matter what she told him, he knew she was lying. She knew as well as he did if they didn't get money soon they'd be out in the streets. Gotham City wasn't forgiving like other cities may have been. It was snowing hard and when it was ten degrees outside, it was too cold for him and Jeanie to be out. With a new baby, that would never be good.

She was getting closer and closer to giving birth, and each day that went by the pressure continued. He had given in to the mob; he had taken a job from them. He had signed up for robbing a company of their chemicals. Ten minutes before he had gone in, he didn't want to go. He didn't want to do this. They stuck a red helmet on him, which made it difficult for him to see what he was doing as he walked.

They had set him up, they had been wrong when they had said that the security wasn't high. He had been arrested and only minutes after being released, he had been told his wife and baby had been lost in a car accident. His career with the mob and gangs only got worse, he continued to go here and there, do jobs. Shoot people. The first time he had killed someone it had felt so good, that he couldn't even possibly explain it. He was not himself anymore he was someone completely different. Something that he couldn't, nor did he want to explain.

He loved it.

However things went wrong when they returned to that same chemical factory. This time, they killed the guards first, before going. However they had been caught on to, and shot at. He had lost his balance and fell over the side into a chemical stirrer. He didn't know how he had gotten out alive.

His clothes were burned and his face and body scarred. His body was completely white, his hair had turned green, he laughed at his own reflection. He found himself laughing at a lot of things, including life. He felt all of his sanity gone, and he had turned and pranced around his apartment. Laughing, singing, and overall _very_ happy, after all his face had a look to it that just wanted to make him grin; he took the chemicals that he had stolen over the last few months and developed a laughing gas. A deadly laughing gas.

He had tested it on one of his men as soon as he thought it was suitable. When it had worked, he had thrown him out of a window. That had managed to be on the news the next day. He called himself the Joker, the life of who he was before was gone. He didn't want to be him anymore. He was the Joker, and that was that.

No more, no less. Life's just a joke anyway.

**Author's Note: If you get the reference, I love you. **


	22. Batman Origins: Poison Ivy

To be honest Pamela Isley didn't want to be a biologist. Studying biology was great and all but there was something she liked a lot more. She _loved_ plants, it was like they were a part of her or something. She could carry on conversations with the plants and no even care that they probably couldn't hear her, nor would they care if they could. She told them everything, being an outcast at her job. No one liked her. They called her names behind her back, that sort of thing.

Of course, when they got word that "Pam was talking to _plants_ now" that was just the highlight of the office, they got the nerve to actually laugh in her face. She had just went back into the green room and continued talking to them. She did this for months, weeks, and just on the eve of her talking to her plant friends for a year. Something happened. At first she thought it was nothing, one of the leaves moved when she had began talking.

However, after checking over three times to make sure there was no wind in the green room she returned back next to her plant friend. The plant grew, and caressed her hand. It wrapped around her arm and she stared at the plant. She didn't realize that over the last year things had changed. She didn't know what had happened, but could she control plants?

No, surely not. Maybe this was a dream, a dream that was finally proving how insane she was going from working in this building. After a few moments, she realized it _wasn't_ a dream and the plant was truly interacting with her. A simple biologist from Seattle, and the plants were interacting with her. A silly girl, that had never been popular, never been gorgeous.

They had chosen her. They had chosen her and she was more than willingly going to take the responsibility as whatever they wanted her to do. She had changed from being a biologist to a botanist, studying plants, but still saying in public she was a biologist. If she gave them too much truth about who she really was, they'd figure out she was the one…

She had been finding the innocent single bachelor, those who were generally rich. She would seduce them, she found that when she let her hair down, wore contacts and dressed nicer, guys seemed to like her more. On top of everything, she made perfumes that seemed to attract the men more. On top of that, she made lipstick, poison lipstick to anyone she kissed.

The perfume would help her seduce them, and then once she got them to trust her, she'd kill them and take some, but not most, of their money. When she left, she'd move towns, change names and move on. She hadn't used her real name since she had begun, but once she got to Gotham City, she used the name once again. She enjoyed being herself again.

She worked as a local biologist in a lab in the middle of town, during this time she met a lot of people. One of them was Harvey Dent. She didn't talk to him, but watched him. It took her until the middle of summer to speak to him, and it didn't take long to have him wrapped her little finger.

She enjoyed every second of him drooling over her. Even if Bruce and Selina didn't like her, she didn't really value their opinion. Especially when Selina got locked up within a week after calling her a home wrecker and gold digger, Pam found this more than amusing.

Her plants didn't think she was so horrible, they loved her, and she loved them. That's all she needed, even if she was beginning to wonder if she would ever need someone else.


	23. Forgive

It was pouring down raining and Bruce was spending his day by sitting on his couch and staring at the wall. He had not at all expected a knock at his door. "Master Bruce, would you like me to get that?" Bruce shook his head and stood, walking towards the door. He could hear the rain, and he opened the door saw Selina standing in his doorway, soaking wet. She looked like she had been standing out in the rain for more than an hour.

"Hi…" she whispered, looking down at her feet. Her dark hair was flopped in her face, and he couldn't see her eyes. "Can I come in?" It had only been two days since the prison break out, but she was showing up at his doorstep instead of hiding in the city.

He wanted to say no, he wanted to slam the door in her face and tell her to go. He didn't want to think about having her with him, even if she had given it up. "Selina…"

"Bruce, I'll explain when I come inside, I'm freezing." She shivered and he absentmindedly pulled her in his arms, taking her inside. He looked around for something to dry her off with, when he couldn't find anything he called for Alfred to grab a towel. He came shortly thereafter and handed her a towel. "Thank you, Alfred… sit with me Bruce?" She seemed unnaturally confident about what she was saying, she was staring at him with bright blue eyes.

"Selina, you shouldn't be here, if Gordon found out…"

"If Gordon showed up and saw me, I'd hand myself over, Bruce. But listen to me, I'm through with that. I'm through with the life that you think that I'm involved in. She's gone, Bruce… I promise you that." She looked at him, and he could see the tears in her eyes. Damnit, why was she so… _perfect_? She was messing with the wrong people, or she had been anyway, and she was staring at him with that blue eyes and batting them like she was a Barbara. He was falling for that little girl charm too.

"Please, I want to change. I want my name cleared, but I can't do that as a jail escapee. Help me, Bruce… please…" He wanted to help her, but how much was his name going to be hurt when they found out he was helping her clear her name? "I'm willing to change my name, work for you even. Dye my hair, no one will know. I may just look like Selina Kyle, I won't act like Selina Kyle. I won't be the hopeless little girl that worked for Harvey Dent, the girl that people stepped on during high school. Bruce…" She looked at him with wide eyes again, wiping at her tears and looking back at her feet.

"Fine, I'll help you, Selina. But if you even… _start_ with that life again…"

"Alright, deal."


	24. But Not Forget

He didn't know _why_ he had let her back in his life; she was nothing more than something that he wanted to get rid of. However she was like a drug when she was around him, she made him happy. She had sworn up and down that she was done with cat burglary, done with the life of crime. However he wasn't sure how much he believed her, the way she looked at some of the things he had in his home. He made sure that everything was still in its place. She had helped him put down the Christmas decorations after New Years, and she had dyed her hair blonde and went by a completely different name when she was in public. She was working for Wayne Corporation now, as his personal secretary.

He didn't trust her; at least he didn't want to. He watched her every chance he got and checked everything was in his office that was there before. He had almost hired someone to follow her at night to make sure she wasn't going out and about, but he was pretty sure she knew better. However, she didn't know better to practically tackle him during the work day.

Blonde hair on Selina didn't really look all that bad, especially with the way she cut it, it was in a bob cut now, just a bit longer than the bottom of her ear lobes. She seemed to purposely dress up in not very _work_ appropriate outfits and prance around his office like a happy little school girl. Especially when it had snowed, she had started singing and managed to get random Christmas songs stuck in his head throughout the day. She had laughed at him when he had glared at her.

She had gone so far as bringing in a CD of Christmas music and playing it all day. Never mind that it was the middle of January and Christmas was old news. She had still came in and sang 'Let it Snow' and danced to the music. If Alfred had seen the sight he probably, would have found it amusing as hell. She lightened up when she was around him, compared to how she acted around the others. She was just a bouncing cloud of joy, considering she sat in her desk and glared at any other woman that walked in his office.

Yes, he noticed these things. It wasn't that surprising, seeing as it was obvious that she had feelings. Even if he didn't want to return them, though he found it difficult to.

Today, it was especially hard, as she was back in his office singing and making it hard not to smile when she was around him. He was glad that he had a boring afternoon ahead of him, no one to possibly walk in on Selina serenading him and sitting on his desk. Well, she wasn't exactly sitting, just she was draped over his desk and looking up at him in his chair. He was finding it difficult to believe that this same woman was the woman that he had had arrested a little over seven months ago.

He found it hard to believe this girl was Catwoman; she was so much saner now than she had been when she had stealing and prancing around town in a Cat get-up. She was just so _different_ acting. "Hello there," she grinned at him, tilting her head and practically rolling on her back draped over his desk. She still had the uncanny cat-like behavior. "How're you today, Bruce?"

Distracted, and shamefully so. He fought to look elsewhere but he kept ending up staring right back in her blue eyes. She fully rolled over now, kicking one of her legs up in the air, which caused his eyes to wander to her long slender legs. She was _trying_ to seduce him, and it was working oh so well. Before he knew it, her fingers were in his hair, and she was tilting his head down towards her.

"Selina…"

She put her finger over his mouth, and shushed him. "Not Selina, remember? Didn't we go over this? I'm Katie Watson, remember?" The name didn't sound right coming out of her mouth when referring to herself. She was Selina Kyle and she wouldn't be anything else for a long time. She just got the excuse to be called 'Kat' when she went by Katie Watson. This was something that worried Bruce, but when she was looking at him with that oh-so-innocent look on her face. He couldn't help but let the worries go, there hadn't been any sign of Catwoman yet. It had been almost three weeks now, if she could give it up, there was more than enough room in his life for her.

"Behind closed doors, you're Selina…" Bruce murmured lightly, which caused her to blink her eyes at him. She looked towards his door and acted as though she had thought it had been open the whole time. She giggled lightly, licking her lips as she looked back at him.

"Oh? I wasn't aware we were behind shut doors. How about we take this home, your schedule is empty and if you're free, I'm free." She fluttered her eyes at him and smirked. He knew was she was thinking, and he wasn't sure if he was willing for that yet. "It'd be fun… I could cook you dinner tonight and we can have a glass of wine in front of that gorgeous fire place of yours."

"Maybe, I think I'll double check my schedule again, though. Cancel anything that was there." She raised her eyebrows at him and sat up, pulling the back of her shirt down, before turning to face him again.

"I'll check, you double check for me? Even though I don't think there is anything. I've been thinking about convincing you to run away with me for the last few hours now." Oh? This made Bruce smile, he couldn't help but love how excited she was to be with him. It wasn't about the fame or glory with Selina, it was about _him_, and he could see that she was happy when he was with her. She wasn't a roaring, raving bitch anyway.

Their walk from the Wayne Corporation building to his car was simple but it made Bruce smile as they walked. The ground was covered in snow, however the city of Gotham was used to this, so the streets were clean and the schools were still open. Apparently, Selina loved snow, she jumped around in it like it was the best thing in the world. She had actually had the nerve to throw a snow ball at the back of his head when he walked in front of her.

This had began a whole snowball fight in the middle of the sidewalk. Three minutes into it, she had wandered into the part of the sidewalk where it was covered in ice, and she slipped. Bruce grabbed her and caught her swiftly in his arms. She had stared at him with the largest eyes that he had ever seen on her, before she had jumped on him and hugged him tightly.

"You're my hero, Bruce." She beamed at him, and he held her tightly in his arms. The words were different coming from her; it was like he had just saved a damsel in distress as Batman. She had said it with that type of gratefulness. He took her hand and led her slowly to his car, making sure she didn't slip on any ice this time. He opened the door for her and she climbed in his car happily and he walked around the other side and got in.

"Bruce, what are we?" As soon as he had gone to start the car, these words had left her lips and left Bruce looking at her like she had grown a third head. He didn't know what to say, but it wasn't going to be anything bad, he didn't have the heart for that.

"I don't know, Selina. What do you want us to be?"

"A couple, like Harvey and Gilda… well… not _engaged_ but you get my point."

"Yeah, I do."

Since Poison Ivy's exit from the city, everything had changed. Even though Joker was still loose, things didn't seem that chaotic. An occasional death or two, but that was just Gotham City. Nothing had been leading to something Joker had done, or Selina, or Ivy. Harvey had decided that he regretted breaking Gilda's heart and wanted to marry her. They were due to get married sometime that upcoming summer. If Selina wanted to be a couple like that, he was more than willing; it was kind of scary how willing he was to be in a relationship with her. Was this a sign that he loved her?

"I don't think that's that bad of an idea, Selina." The look on her face as he said that made his day. She was glowing with ecstasy , and he was pretty sure that had he not been driving that she would have jumped on him. "However, Selina… you have to promise me…"

"I promise, Bruce. You should know that I'm done with that life." She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "I'm glad you think we should be a couple." This was the first time in seven months that he had even thought about being in a relationship with Selina. It was a thought that was more than welcome in his head, to be quite honest.

He was happy that she was determined that she was giving up the life of Catwoman. While she could give up her double life, he couldn't. He knew he couldn't. There was no point whatsoever in trying. The city needed him, she needed him. Someone needed to protect this city from people like Joker. Surely he wasn't the only crazy living in Gotham City.

Not that he'd be complaining if he was. He would find it a bit humorous that Joker was the only true crazy living in Gotham City. However, for some reason, he doubted this. Simpletons were also the crazy ones, the ones that were unexpected. Gotham was filled with the mob, everyone knew this. Everyone.

As long as Selina wasn't involved, he didn't care. He didn't want her getting involved again, and as much as he wanted to _tell_ her about certain aspects of his life, he couldn't find himself doing it yet. Even though he was almost positive that she knew somewhat, even if it was in the back of her mind.

When they arrived at Wayne Manor, she waited for him to get out of the car first before following. He wasn't sure whether she was doing this so she didn't fall again or what, but she walked beside him and almost too closely. While she had been jittery in the car, she seemed nervous now. Bruce was watching her, when she acted strange like this he couldn't help but wonder what she was thinking. He could forgive, but he wouldn't forget how she had looked when he had seen her as Batman.

She looked at him and smiled as she stepped on the front step. "Smile Bruce, life's too short to worry about the little things." She leaned forward and softly kissed him. While it was completely true, he couldn't help but wonder what was the real reason she was doing this.


	25. Not What They Seem: Chapter 1

Bruce Wayne hadn't been to Metropolis since he was a little boy. He hadn't been since the Christmas when he was six years old, and his father had taken him that Christmas and they had gone after-Christmas shopping. They had stayed in the hotel in the middle of the city, it had been absolutely wonderful. It was the Metropolitan Tower, and when he came back he made sure that he stayed in that hotel.

This time he was here with Selina. It was the middle of the summer, and it was their getaway from the city. While many had caught on to the fact that she _was_ Selina Kyle, many didn't care because as Katie Watson, she had done a lot of charity work. She had stayed blonde, though, and it was beginning to grow longer, down to her shoulders and the curls were back again. Bruce loved how pretty she looked with her curls, it was something he adored about her. Coming from _him_, someone who didn't care all that much about his looks, thinking that she looked gorgeous with her curly hair was definitely something.

According to Alfred he was smitten. He was beginning to believe it, buying her things, taking her to Metropolis. Even though he was really here to scout out Superman and the Wonder Woman that he had heard so much about. Apparently they were the big thing around here, one was an alien and the other an Amazonian. Why was Batman needed when the world had those two? Because, despite their apparent powers, they couldn't take care of every city. Gotham still needed someone like him, Metropolis, maybe not. Unless Superman and Wonder Woman needed his help someday, however he doubted this. What could happen that they would ever need _his_ help? While they were not human, they still had some flaws. Bruce had heard of the great Lex Luthor and Superman encounters over the last few years. Apparently Kryptonite was something that Superman was vulnerable to, and while Wonder Woman had her weapons, if she was not completely invulnerable. Her skin did bleed easier, which was why she had her bracelets, because her skin couldn't reflect it.

Even though with the outfit she wore, Batman didn't understand why she opened herself to such vulnerability. Perhaps she was just very egotistical, thought that she couldn't get hurt. Well it wasn't true, the pair was certainly interesting. Bruce was looking forward to seeing them in action. However right now, he wasn't doing anything except unpacking.

Selina had already finished with her bags, and she had celebrated by going to take a nice long bath. The trip from Gotham to Metropolis wasn't that long, but long enough for her to complain about feeling disgusting. This left him alone in the hotel room with the sound of running water. He opened his suitcase and he didn't _really_ want to put all of his clothes away. In a week he was going to have to put them all back again. He shuffled the bag around a few times, looked through his clothes, and kicked the suitcase from one side of the room to the other a couple of times.

"Bruce, you're making a racket, what are you doing?" Selina asked as she opened the door, dressed in a nice looking gown. One that he had bought her a few weeks ago, it went down to her knees, it was blue, and it was a summer dress. She adored it. Her hair was still wet, but she still looked very pretty as she looked over at him with a soft smile.

"I don't feel like hanging everything up." He grinned at her, and she rolled her eyes. She muttered under her breath something about him being lazy as hell when Alfred wasn't around. "Hey! I can hear you."

"Yeah, yeah, Bruce, it's true and you know it. Just leave them in your bags then, it'll be easier I suppose." She smiled and stepped towards him. "So are we exploring the city tonight, or are we… staying in?" She eyed towards the bed and he laughed, tugging her towards him and kissing her on the lips.

"I was going to take you out, see if we can spot any Men of Steel…"

"Or Amazonian women?"

"I think I see one right in front of me."

"Bruce!" She flustered and blushed, kissing him and giggling softly. "Well I'm all out for going out tonight, even though I think Superman is just an overgrown boy scout. I much prefer Batman, at least… y'know he's human as far as I know." Yeah, he is Selina, despite what many people think. He mused about this lightly before kissing her forehead.

"Well you never know with Gotham, he could be immortal."

"Doubt it; immortals are usually invulnerable to women."

"So you think Superman is invulnerable to women?"

"Probably doesn't even like women, he just likes to show off Wonder Woman. She's his… whore or something. I don't know."

"Selina… are you aware that you have a weird way of thinking about things?"

"Yes, I am Bruce. You love it, don't you?"

He didn't even have to answer her, she leaned forward and kissed him. "I know you do, so there's no point in even answering me. Are we going out or are you just going to stand there Bruce?"

He wanted to just stand there, though she was telling him to do otherwise. Nonetheless, tonight was going to be a fun night. He didn't think anyone was going to interrupt their dinner tonight, it wasn't like the Joker was going to come all the way from Gotham to Metropolis.


	26. Not What They Seem: Chapter 2

"Oh… sorry… I'm sorry…" Clark had been walking through the city and he had stumbled into a couple. The man was just about as tall as him, good looking with a suit on and nice hair, and the woman had a nice summer dress on for the warm weather, short blonde hair. The man looked familiar, and after looking at him for a few months, Clark realized who it was.

Bruce Wayne! He had read that the billionaire would be in the city, but he didn't think he would actually run into him. Perhaps as Superman, but as Clark Kent? He didn't think the man would be walking through the city at night.

"It's fine, it's perfectly fine. Katie are you okay?" Bruce looked over to his woman friend and she nodded. She sent Clark a weak smile, before tugging on Bruce's arm. Before he let him get away, Clark had to confirm his identity.

"You're Bruce Wayne aren't you? Golly, I knew that you were here and all, but I didn't think I would actually run into you!" He looked down at his feet, and then back at Bruce, who didn't seem to mind the attention. As long as he didn't take a picture of him, he supposed.

"Yeah, nice to meet you… and you are?"

"Clark Kent, I work for the Daily Planet."

The smile on Bruce's face seemed to disappear, as he was surely familiar with the newspaper, so Clark continued. "I'm not _stalking_ you or anything; I don't even have my camera with me." The frown increased. "I guess I'll just leave you alone then, huh? Have a good night! Maybe Superman'll be out tonight, ya know? That would be great, wouldn't it? You meeting Superman?" As the woman grabbed his arm and began to softly drag him, Clark began to shut up. At least he could tell Lois about this later, even though she'd probably want an interview.

Oh he was going to make sure that Bruce Wayne met Superman tonight. Nothing could possibly be better than meeting Superman on their first night here.

"Bruce, he was kind of weird…"

"No kidding, Selina, I'm surprised he didn't ask me for an autograph."

"I bet you he was considering it."

Selina grinned and looked around at the streets of Metropolis. There were so many people out on the street, and in their cars that it was absurd. It was nighttime, and had this been Gotham City there would have been no one on the street, and those that were on the street got robbed, possibly stabbed, killed, raped, murdered…

"Busy isn't it? I can't believe that so many people are out." She murmured under her breath as they walked. "I mean for a city protected by an overgrown Boy Scout and a tan, Amazonian… they don't seem to be worrying about anything." Why should they? Everyone knew that if they went to Metropolis, they were protected. There was nothing to worry about, according to what they thought anyway.

"Where should we eat, Selina?" He asked with a soft smile, turning and looking at her. The blonde woman shrugged as she looked around. "Your guess is as good as mine."

He looked at her and she was looking up at the sky. She was tilting her head at the sky, and stopped for a moment. "Bruce… look! There's something up there." She didn't point but he saw what she was looking at, while for a moment he thought it was something like a plane, or perhaps an eagle. It was getting closer, whatever it was, and bigger. The closer it got the more shape it seemed to get. It was beginning to look like a man. No, that _couldn't_ be him. Bruce tugged on Selina's arm, however she wouldn't budge.

"Selina c'mon, whatever he's doing, we don't need to be here for."

"I want to meet him!"

"I thought you said he was an over grown Boy Scout?"

"He is, but… he's still Superman!"

He gave her that, and let her stay where she was. The figure grew larger and he landed right above the middle of the street. Many people were standing on the sidewalk and staring; however a little boy ran into the street without looking for cars. A car was obviously going too fast, and the boy's mother screamed. The car surely had hit the little boy, Bruce had blinked and found Superman holding the little boy and putting him on the ground by his mother.

"Oh thank you, Superman!" She said, and looked up at the man who was hovering just above the ground. It was as though, he didn't want to put himself in the same level as them, humans.

"No problem, ma'am." Bruce noticed Selina's eyes over the Man of Steel, she then turned to him and tried not to laugh.

"My theory still stands, Bruce." Selina murmured, watching as Superman looked around. Sure enough, amongst all those people, they noticed him. Of course, he wasn't the only one, there were people around him muttering to themselves and not so rude as to point, but just whispering about him.

The Man of Steel didn't say anything, but just zoomed into the air without a word. Bruce looked over to Selina and smiled, "Happy now? You got to see your Superman." He held her tightly and kissed her forehead, before beginning to walk once again. He wondered if he remembered to pack his own suit, not that he could actually sneak out with Selina around. Perhaps he would return to the city without her, and when he did the Dark Knight and Man of Steel could meet.


End file.
